Frozen
by AliceRed1878
Summary: Cover image owned by valeofox. I do not own.
1. Chapter 1

For just a moment, everything was right with the world. She had her face snuggled in her cool pillow; her blankets were wrapped around her like she had been sleeping in a cocoon. Yui woke up to a sharp snap of a pillow bouncing off her skull.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty. Time for school." Mao changed for the worse. "You know it takes longer for you to get ready because you have to put on the stupid wig."

They were identical twins. But Mao had been blessed with long dark tresses while her sister had hair white as snow. Seven bottles of dye wasn't enough to keep it dark. Not only was it expensive, it was also ineffective. It was cheaper and easier to wear a wig whenever Yui went out in public, which was pretty much all the time.

"Sorry," she mumbled pensively, crawling herself out of bed.

Mao rolled her eyes. She grabbed their magenta uniforms and tossed one over to her sister. The fabric hit Yui square in the face. The apology was more or less out of habit rather than with any actual compunction. Yui took the uniform, folded it neatly in her arms, and began walking towards the bathroom where she usually changed. She dreaded looking at the mirror like she did every morning. Compared to her sister, who was tall, tan, and beautiful, Yui looked like nothing more than a snow queen. Her long white hair reached her hips, although her eyebrows were black not unlike her sister's. She was thin while Mao was certainly more curvy. Her arms were twigs dangling off her shoulders and her legs were nothing but pocky sticks. Her skin was looked and felt as ice, pale, cold, and clammy. She tore her eyes away from the mirror, shedding her night clothes one by one. They landed in a pile on the bathroom floor to be picked up when she was finished getting dressed. Black tights always suited her best. They covered the fact that her legs were so very pale. Pulling her hair out from the uniform's blouse, Yui picked up her brush and a hair tie. Yui ran the brush through her hair until it became smooth. Tying it up in a messy bun almost at the top of her head, she reached for the black wig hanging by a pair of clothes pins and some string on the wall. The wig cap was nestled neatly inside. It was stretched over her head, being careful not to let the brim of it fall too far down her forehead. With the wig cap safely snug around her scalp, Yui put on her wig.

Mao knocked on the bathroom door, "Are you almost done in there?"

"Almost." She could hear her sister sigh impatiently.

She quickly straightened out her wig so that the strands fell evenly over her shoulders and the bangs were correctly positioned.

The door opened without any further prompting, and Yui found herself being gently pushed out. Mrs. Kagami, their mother, could only smile. Yui brushed past her.

"She's not a morning person." It was the oldest and lamest excuse in the book and neither one of them believed it. It just felt more comfortable to say than the truth.

"I know, mom." She went to wait outside the front door while Mao made herself look pretty.

Yui forced her hands inside the special black leather gloves to keep, but the weather was hot. It wasn't something she liked to do. Her palms and fingers would get sticky with sweat very fast, not to mention the odd looks she would receive. Every day she would have to lie about her gloves. It wasn't a matter of germs or a skin condition. She was afraid of her own power, and Mao didn't help matters either.

"Alright, let's go." Mao barked as she marched out of the door.

Mrs. Kagami stood in the doorway, smiling her bittersweet smile as they left.

"Be safe! Watch out for each other!"

"We know, mom!" Mao shouted back.

When they were well out of sight, Mao sped up ahead of Yui. Her twin lagged behind on purpose. This was how it was and how it would always be, or at least that's how Yui thought it would be.

They entered the school from two different doors. They walked to their lockers which were kept separated at Mao's request. Yui watched from a far distance how her sister mingled with her classmates. There was twinge of jealousy in her heart. Mao would never know how much her sister wanted to be like her. But then, Yui's eyes would be drawn to that faint scar on the side of Mao's throat, and everything would fall apart again. At the sight of it, like it held some kind of control over her, Yui would shrink away from others and mentally retreat into the interior cell she had made for herself.

Yui shuffled her way to her advanced mathematics class. Mr. Kimura smiled gently at her, though she could barely tell from hunching her shoulders and kept her head down even as she walked. Mr. Kimura was the only teacher, the only person in the school that seemed genuinely concerned about her emotional welfare. After the bell rang, they dived right into the math problems the teacher quickly drew up on the board.

She was hardly paying attention as soon as the click-clack of chalk danced across the blackboard. Yui stared blankly at the open textbook before her.

"Yui, would you mind solving the problem on the board?"

"Yes, sir." Disturbed, she stood up and marched up to the chalk board. She could feel the judging eyes staring at the back of her head.

Yui ignored that familiar sensation and focused on solving the math problem Mr. Yukimura drew up on the board. Her hands had difficulty holding onto the piece of chalk; the pieces of leather restrained some of the most basic movements in her fingers.

"You could take those off," Mr. Yukimura suggested as kindly as possible.

"I'd rather not," she snapped, unusually out of character, before turning back to the board.

She stared at the numbers for the longest time. Her brows scrunched as she silently calculated the answer. In a short while, the room was filled with nothing but the sound of her scratching the chalk onto the board in a hurried fashion. When done, she brushed off the white dust and quickly went back to her desk. There were whispers behind, but she couldn't tell if she was just hearing things or if it was just the usual gossip.

"X is equal ninety-eight. Good job." The teacher congratulated her.

"Thank you, sir."

The bell rang, signaling the end of that period. How long had she been day-dreaming? Or, correctly termed staring at her book?

"I want to have your homework completed by tomorrow. All fifty questions done and on my desk. I don't take make-up work."

Students, who barely heard his instructions, were already heading out the door, voices streaming needless and unimportant conversations. Mr. Yukimura noticed that the last student gathering her things was once again Yui Kagami. First to arrive and the last to leave. Mao may have been popular among their peers, but Yui had something her sister didn't, a brilliant mind. Though she ranked only third, her abilities were well above average. He had a theory that she was much smarter than she let others believe. Looking over test scores and then at her homework, which she never got a question wrong, something didn't add up right.

"Yui, can I talk to you for minute?"

Startled, Yui looked around the room. It looked like she was trying to find an excuse to leave, but when she couldn't come up with one; she walked over to her teacher anyway.

"Yes sir?" Her fingers twitched and tensed around the handle on her school bag.

"I have been meaning to talk to you about something," he walked behind his desk and opened one of the drawers. He pulled out a couple of sheets of paper. "I've noticed that you're doing very well on your homework, but when it comes to tests, you seem to miss some pretty easy questions."

He aligned the papers on his desk. One was a sheet of homework questions with a perfect score; the sheet sitting next to it was a test they took last week with a ninety-seven out of a hundred.

"Do you miss questions on purpose, Yui? Because when I look at your homework, I don't see any mistakes, but then you take a test, and you veer off in another direction. Your test scores are good; however I can't help but think that you dumb yourself down. Is this true?"

Yui shook her head vigorously. "Why would I? I have no reason to miss questions. I get test anxiety. That's all."

"Are you sure?" He looked at the sheets on his desk and then back at her.

She nodded her head.

He sighed, however he knew he wasn't going to get anywhere with her. Yui Kagami was so reserved she hardly ever talked to her own twin sister at school. It did beg the question why the girl was so reserved and anti-social. It was rather unsettling actually.

"May I go now?" She asked.

"Sure." Mr. Yukimura waved her off and she scurried off without further ado.

Yui tended to keep her head down when she walked. There was no particular reason except to keep others away and ignore the wondering eyes as she passed. She would be forever known as Mao's weird sister. She would pretend that their words didn't hurt her. They did.

"Look, look, here she comes." One of Mao's friends, Ruka, whispered to the other friend, Miyumi.

"She's so pale. She looks like a Snow Maiden."

"It's kind of creepy." Ruka chuckled. "Is she trying to scare people?"

"Probably doesn't even go outside. Like a vampire."

"Does she think she's a vampire?"

"Who knows? Probably!" The two girls laughed thinking that Yui couldn't hear them.

A lot of people liked to assume that she couldn't hear them. But she did hear them. Every word they said, ever. She knew what they thought of her, and even though it didn't really matter that much to her, her goal in high school wasn't to be popular, it still hurt. It hurt a lot. She wanted to vanish into thin air most days.

Yui shuffled her feet, staring at the floor. Her peers made way for her like she was passing through the Dead Sea. She didn't have to look up in order to see the blank faces and eyes staring at her. Most of them chose not to say anything, some gossiped. The school freak show usually was the only source of entertainment. Meiou High School didn't have too many problems. It was a rather elite school. It did have a couple of bad apples, maybe one or two, but the school housed mostly students who were generally considered well-bred, studious, and helpful to the community, however she never felt threatened.

She was so busy minding her own business and trying to shut out the voices whispering behind her back, Yui failed to notice the gentleman right in front of her. Only to realize it when it was too late, she rammed face person to the student's chest before landing backwards on her behind. She groaned and blinked, blushing when the whispering voices became a chorus of laughter.

"Are you alright?"

Surprised, Yui found a hand held out to her. Raising her eyes upwards, her blush deepened in color. Warmth rose in her cheeks.

_Shuichi Minamino._

Shuichi Minamino was offering her his hand.

"I-I'm fine. Thank you." Yui looked away, but took his hand any way. "I-I'm sorry about running into you. I-I wasn't watching where was going."

"You should be more careful."

Their hands were lingering for longer than what Yui deemed appropriate. The leather that separated her skin from his wasn't thick enough. She wanted to rip it away from him, but found she couldn't. His fingers gently squeezed around her hand. There was some kind of spark. Not a romantic spark. Something else. Eventually, she found the courage to take her hand from Shuichi, glaring coldly into his eyes.

She turned to glance over her shoulder, feeling a heated glare boring down on her. Mao's friends were jealous and angry; they didn't bother to hide it. Yui picked up her bag from the floor, kneeling rather than bending over to get it.

"I-I need to get to m-my next class. Excuse me." She ran past him, shoulders brushing.

Yui ran, though she could still hear the laughter and feel Ruka's and Miyumi's glares in the back of her skull. She took her seat at the back of the class. Her hands and legs wouldn't stop shaking. Mao entered the room, her friends walking behind her like her troop. Mao glared at her sister who could only look down at her desk and clamp her hands together.

"So I heard you just bumped into Shuichi Minamino." Mao's hand slammed on top of Yui's desk. "Did you know that I liked him?"

"No," Yui shook her head, "of course I didn't. I just bumped into him that's all."

"Good," but Mao still seemed less than pleased with her answer. She spun on her heel quickly followed by her pack. Yui felt like crawling into a hole. This day kept getting better and better, sarcasm.


	2. Chapter 2

There he was. Shuichi Minamino was all alone, standing by his locker. A faint blush turned Mao's fair cheeks into a pair of apples. Yui may have had the pleasure of running into him earlier but this was Mao's turn to snag the man of her dreams.

Mao breathed deeply. She walked up to him as he was busy packing his books away.

"Shuichi-kun, can I have a minute of your time?"

He turned his head to her, his gorgeous green eyes looking her way, causing Mao to blush slightly. He nodded and smiled politely. Mao began to play with her thumbs which she hid behind her back as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her heels.

"I was just wondering if you had plans for this Saturday. I understand that you get very busy, but I was kind of hoping you'd at least have lunch with me."

"What about your sister?"

Mao shrugged, confused. "What about her?"

"It's nothing. It's just," he paused, "it seems odd that you'd rather ridicule your own sister than help her. Being so introverted as she is, it can't be good for her emotional well-being."

There was a certain amount of icy in his tone. Mao ignored that to the best of her abilities.

"It's just the way she is." Mao was now more confused than she was nervous. What did Yui say to him? "And I don't ridicule my sister. She's just a very easy target for the other girls to pick on."

"And you do nothing in your power to stop them?"

She opened her mouth in rebuttal but then lost all hope of answering when she couldn't come up with a good excuse. Mao closed her mouth slowly, and looked away.

"I think I can spare some time this Saturday." Mao's face instantly lit up, for just a second before Shuichi gave his ultimatum. "If you bring your sister."

"My sister?" Mao repeated in disbelief.

"Yes," he finished packing his books and lifted the bag from the bench he rested it on. "Unlike you and some other people, your sister's condition worries me. It's unhealthy."

Mao breathed through her nose sharply.

"Sure, I'll bring her. If you can bring somebody for her." It was doubtful.

"Agreed." He wrote something down on a scrap piece of paper. "Here's my number. Call me when and where you want to meet up."

Mao practically snatched the paper out of his hand.

"Thank you, Shuichi-kun. I will."

Shuichi and Mao parted ways. She stuffed the paper into her bag, annoyed.

How do I convince Yui to go out Saturday? Maybe if I don't tell her and bring her without her knowing she can't possibly refuse!

Yui may have been shy and timid but there was no way she'd run away with the strict rule of politeness she kept herself under. Mao greedily smiled and went to find her sister so that they could walk home together.

* * *

"Could you repeat that, Kurama?" Yusuke gave his friend a bewildered sort of look with a healthy dose of 'what are you smoking and where can I get some?'

Yusuke didn't usually Kurama on a regular basis. He was elusive as he was smart. To be honest, Yusuke didn't really know that much about Kurama, the specifics of his personal life, for example, were mostly a big mystery. Except for caring for his human mother and maybe gardening, Yusuke didn't picture his friend to be the outgoing type, at least when it came to hobbies and such. It was a big surprise, more like a bombshell, when he appeared out of nowhere at Yusuke's school, looking for a favor of all things.

"I need someone to come with me on a lunch date."

"Um, okay?"

"You see there is a girl from my school…"

Yusuke laughed. "A girl? I didn't think you'd be the kind of guy who has trouble with girls. If anything, you're more busy chasing them off than chasing after them."

"You misunderstand me, Yusuke. I wish you could be serious for a few minutes." Kurama sighed impatiently.

"Alright," folded his arms across his chest, "what's this about."

"Thank you," he appreciated his friend's sense of respect. "I have noticed for some time now this particular student who goes to my school. She's extremely introverted and anti-social, more so than the average teenage girl going through an 'awkward phase,' if you will. I didn't really pay much attention to her until she ran into me earlier today. When she brushed against me, she was cold as ice."

"And?" Yusuke shrugged his shoulders. He failed to see what was so special.

"No, no." He paused. "I'm not speaking in metaphors. This girl, she was literally cold as ice. Her body temperature was well below average, much, much lower than average."

"Do you think she's sick or something?"

Kurama shook his head. "No, it's not a physical ailment that worries me. I have come to the conclusion that something is a miss."

"What? Is she possessed or something?"

Kurama shrugged. He managed to surprise himself by not being able to answer the question with a solid answer.

"I'm not sure, which is why I need to figure it out for myself."

"Otherwise it will bother you until you do."

"More or less."

Yusuke sighed, resigning himself to this strange favor. He pushed himself away from the brick wall he had been leaning against during their whole conversation.

"But don't tell Keiko." Yusuke warned.

"It'll be our little secret," Kurama assured him.


	3. Chapter 3

Saturday

Yui sat at her desk brushing her hair, her real hair, slowly. Her eyes avoided the mirror as best as she could, not wanting to look at the deathly pale skin, white hair, and blue eyes that stared back at her. Mao was busy doing something in her room; they stopped sharing rooms when they were in middle school. It was better that way. Mao's radio was turned up so loud that it thrummed against Yui's wall. Yui wanted to knock on her door and tell her to turn the volume down, but she hesitated and stopped herself from doing just that for some reason.

Finally, she put the brush down. Instead of facing her reflection, Yui directed her eyes towards the pictures taped round about the mirror's surface. They were just some family photos, from before things fell apart at the seams, and some pictures of architectural design and famous figure skaters. Nobunari Oda and Mao Asada were side by side, smiling. It was still September; the Sochi Winter Olympics were still months away.

"Yui?" Mao knocked on her door. "Can I come in?"

It had been a very long time since Mao knocked on her door. Yui stood from her chair and went to her bookcase.

"Sure," she answered even as she looked over the titles of books neatly lined along the shelves.

The door opened with a soft creak. Mao's footsteps were soft as she entered, and then closed the door behind her.

"What do you need?" Yui pretended to still be perusing her book collection.

"Do you want to get lunch?"

Without looking back at her sister, "I think mom left some soup in the cabinets."

Mao laughed. "No, silly. Go out and get lunch. My treat!"

Yui shook her head. "I-I don't know. You know how I am with people."

"It'll be good for you!"

Yui could sense that there was something more on her sister's mind than just food.

"I'd much rather read one of my books during the break, but thank you, Mao."

She felt Mao's hands grab her arm, tugging on them gently like she was a little child again.

"Please," Mao whined, "I want to apologize for what I did and said yesterday. I hardly ever see you anymore. You don't leave your room very often. Come on!"

"I…"

"Please," she whined, pouting, "I'll buy you one of those veggie burgers you like so much."

Yui turned to see nothing but her sister's quivering lower lip. She somehow learned the ability to make her eyes appear larger than they really were, and thus hardly anyone could resist Mao's 'puppy-dog' face.

"Oh, alright. Let me clean up first."

"Yay!" Mao wrapped her arms around Yui's torso and squeezed her tightly until she thought she was going to pop. "Thank you so much!" She let go of Yui and sprint for the door, accidently slamming it shut behind her.

It seemed rather odd how Mao was so excited about a lunch date between sisters. Over the past few years, Mao had nothing but ignore Yui on a regular basis, except when she needed help on some homework. They lived in separate rooms and lived separate lives. Yui went to her desk, grabbing a hair tie. Brushing her fingers through her hair, she tied it all up in a messy bun which was flattened by the wig cap. She looked down at her clothes, a long-sleeved shirt splattered with blue and white paint and dark jeans. She supposed she could try to look a little nicer for her sister's sake. Walking to her small closet, which wasn't even filled to capacity, Yui rummaged through her things, in search for something nice to wear, however she was unsure of what to put on. Mao hadn't asked her to hang out since they were kids.

An icy arrow seemed to cut deep into Yui's heart. There were things her sister didn't remember but Yui did.

She quickly shook off this feeling, burying it deep inside once more. Focused on her task, Yui continued in her search for a good outfit. Eventually, she pulled out a white peasant blouse, and knee-length black sundress, and white tights. These were placed on the bed in a tidy fashion before Yui took off the clothes she was wearing. She put on the tights first, then the blouse, and the black dress on last. The sundress had an empire waist-line; supposedly it was good for Yui's figure. The skirt flared down from her bust line, hiding her incredibly small waist underneath the soft black material.

Her black wig rested on a Styrofoam head in the corner of the room. She took it from its resting place, and placed it on her head. The brush was run through the wig, carefully. With a few adjustments here and there, Yui finished by putting a white satin headband over her wig, and before she left her room, she grabbed a pair of black Mary-Jane's to complete the look as well as her black gloves.

She found Mao waiting on the porch, as usual. Yui barely had time to put on her shoes before Mao grabbed her arm again and pulled her in the direction of the nearest bus stop. She locked the door on the way out just in time.

"Where are we going?" Yui asked.

"You'll see," Mao answered.

When the bus arrived, Mao paid for both of their fares. As they sat down, being surprisingly vacant for that time of the day it was easy finding a seat, Yui pulled her gloves. She pulled on the leather so hard, the material softly crunched as it stretched. Mao noticed a tiny hole at the tip of the left glove's pinky.

"After this, I'll find you a new pair. Those are practically falling apart!"

First lunch date and now new gloves? They were still in pretty good condition. A little needle and some thread would fix the hole; even though it wasn't that begin anyway. Why was she being so nice? Yui liked to think that she was smart and knew her sister fairly well. The uncharacteristic generosity would have made Yui suspect something terrible of her sister, under most circumstances. Mao's cheerfulness was almost unsettling if not of disturbing proportions. Had she the opportunity, Yui would have left the bus immediately. However, this was _her _sister after all. Why not play along just a little longer?

But the gears were already turning. Sadly, there wasn't enough oil to grease the wheels and keep them going. The bus seemed to have reached their destination as Mao grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her off the bus, practically dragging her along behind her. They walked half a block, heading towards this diner sitting at the corner of a busy street. Mao couldn't hide the Cheshire cat smile, and it was making seriously Yui nervous. People stopped what they were doing and decided to glance their way. For once, it wasn't just Yui's extremely pale face and out of season accessories that had people looking her way. The fact that Mao was practically dragging her around like she was nothing but a ragdoll was more than enough reason to cause people to stare.

"Mao, do you think you could let go?"

"Oh," Mao woke up from her day dream apparently, "Sorry," and released Yui's hand.

They continued as Yui rubbed her sore wrist. Mao opened the door to the diner for her and she walked right into her sister's trap. Once she entered, the little bell above the door ringing over her head, a pair of green eyes, familiar green eyes, looked her way. There was Shuichi Minamino, who she had just yesterday embarrassed herself in front of, and his friend, who was not so familiar. A blush turned all of her face a brand new shade of red. Yui quickly turned about face and reached for the door when Mao's hands grabbed her arm again and started pulling her away from the door.

"Oh, no you don't." Mao pulled. "You're not getting away that easy!"

"You tricked me!"

Yui didn't, or couldn't, put up much resistance. Mao had two things going for her in this situation, physical strength and willpower. Yui had strength but not enough will to fight her sister.

"You don't want to be rude, do you?"

"No." She was reluctant to answer knowing that Mao would make her eat lunch with them. Even if she came up with a good excuse, Mao would still have her way.

"Good." She marched her sister to the booth Shuichi and his friend was sitting. Mao smiled. "Hi, Shuichi-kun. And you must be his friend."

"Hey." The other boy gave a slight nod.

Mao pulled her sister forward, but still held onto her arm. "This is my twin sister, Yui. Say hello to…"

"Yusuke Urameshi, he answered.

"Yusuke-kun, say hello to Yusuke-kun, Yui!" She nearly shoved Yui into the booth and scooted next to her.

Yui couldn't help but noticed the very strategic placement. She saw directly in front of Yusuke, and there was no way she could get out unless Mao moved, which wasn't likely to happen. She glanced at her sister, who was blushing just ever so slightly and then remembered what she said the other day, how she like Shuichi. The blush on Yui's face turned brighter, if that was even physically possible. Her eyes were cast down. She knew that it was rude not to even look at her 'date,' but she was so frustrated and mad that she couldn't bear to look at him. Though, he wasn't too bad looking.

There was only a short reprieve when the waitress came to the deliver the menus.

"What can I get you to drink?" She popped her gum like this was a cheesy 1950's American romance/comedy.

"Water for me, please." Shuichi answered.

"Chocolate shake," said Yusuke.

"Sprite."

"Water…please." Yui's answer was barely audible.

"So…uh, you're twins." Yusuke struggled to make up a decent conversation.

Mao nodded her head. "You can't tell sometimes, but Yui and I look almost identical, except her eyes are blue and mine are black. We were confused for each other a lot when we were kids." She gently elbowed her sister in the ribs. "Right, Yui?"

She only nodded, but didn't say anything.

"What do you do for fun, Mao?" Kurama seemed better at this than Yusuke. At least his 'date' contributed to the conversation.

"I play soccer and volleyball. But my sister here," she clapped her hand on Yui's shoulders. "Is a figure skater, and she is awesome at it. If only she'd let people watch her…"

"You know why I don't, Mao." Yui interrupted.

Her sister frowned, but then smiled again, turning to Yusuke. "She's super smart too. Reads all of these books on architecture. She can name any kind of pillar, arch, and building in the world."

Yui blushed. "I wish you could stop bragging about me."

"Nonsense. If I don't put the word out, you'll never find a man who exists in real life, and not inside your books."

While trying to make Yusuke just little bit interested in her sister, Mao failed. All she did really was create more tension. It was obvious that Yui didn't want to be there. Her shoulders were stiff and she hunched over the table between the couples. Her eyes were staring at inanimate objects rather giving Yusuke a respectful glance. There was frustration like thick pea-soup fog around them. Mao was frustrated with Yui and Yui was frustrated with the entire situation.

"Would you excuse of us for a…moment?" Mao once again grabbed her sister's arm and tugged her along to the ladies room.

Yusuke sipped his drink. He thought for a moment.

"I don't see anything in that girl," he said finally. His tone stood on the fine line of boredom. "Not the slightest ounce of spirit energy. Are you sure that's the reason you brought me here?"

Kurama sighed, agitated. He thought he sensed it too. He was certain of it. There was something Yui Kagami was hiding. He knew it. Yusuke's lack of confirmation may have stabbed him a little in his pride, but still, it was only Yusuke. It wasn't quite his first instincts to be aware of energy. Despite being the so-called Spirit Detective, and as much as Kurama was forming some respect for him, he began to think that Yusuke was Spirit Detective in title only.

Mao got her sister alone in the bathroom. She glanced around to make sure no one else was in there. When the coast was clear, she turned and glared fiery eyes at her sister.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Mao spat. "I'm _trying_ to be nice and this is the thanks I get?"

"In all honesty, you're only being nice because you wanted something from me." Yui wasn't always the nice door step people assumed her to be. Backed into a corner, she could unleash a sharp tongue when need be.

Her sister rolled her eyes. "At least I try. You're so anti-social, it's actually embarrassing. I don't like walking around school hearing people talk about you. They wouldn't have to say much if you'd just be normal and didn't wear those stupid things," she pointed at Yui's leather gloves.

"I-I don't care what other people think. I have my reasons."

Mao reached out to grab one of her gloves right off her hands. Yui saw what she was trying to do and narrowly escaped her sister's grasp. She backed further and further away. Her sister didn't come after her, not at first. They stared at each other for a long time. Mao stormed her way up to Yui, tried to grab on the gloves, and rip it off if she must. Yui dodged again. She wrapped her arms around herself. Taking refuge in the tight corner of the bathroom, she turned to the side.

"Please," she seemed to beg. Her voice was just barely a whisper.

Mao stormed out without saying a word, not so much as an apology. There were no windows big enough for her to escape through, Yui followed her outside and returned to the table.

The waitress eventually came back shortly after the girls did. They ordered, handing over the menus back to the waitress. Their food arrived sooner than expected but the diner wasn't very busy to begin with. Yui ate quietly, still not making very much eye contact with Yusuke while her sister and Shuichi hit it off, almost completely ignoring the other two sitting in the booth. Yusuke tried to talk to her. He soon found out that he couldn't get many answers from her. Her answers were brief and contained two or three words, and if he was lucky, four. She stuck mainly to yes or no answers before taking another bite out of her veggie burger.  
Mao and Shuichi were having the opposite reaction. They seemed to be getting along just fine. Although Mao didn't notice, he was slightly off put. He was restraining himself at some points in their conversations and forcing things out of his mouth at other times. The other twin was so oblivious to this that she would never have realized it unless someone pointed it out to her. But, even then she would have probably denied altogether.

Yui watched them from the corner of her eye. Shuichi's game was not so lost on her. She was quiet but that made observation so much easier. She believed in something that she read once in an old novel, "The observer often sees more of the game than the players do." While she knew that her sister was up to something from the moment her offer was placed on the table, Yui sort of had the idea that something was going to go horribly wrong. And she was right. Shuichi, however, didn't have the luxury of being related. Mao had the fortune of having Yui's, not exactly trust, but perhaps bias, whereas Shuichi did not. Yui was able to observe him without reservation. She saw the tiny things he would do and say. Yusuke probably knew these things and kept quiet.

Mao stretched her neck a little. Yui felt that familiar pang of compunction beating her up on the inside again when she glanced at the faint scar on Mao's neck. She was reaching for her glass of water when Shuichi pointed out the faint scar on the side of Mao's neck.

"Where did you get that?"

Mao touched the scar with her hand, rubbing it. "I honestly don't know. I've had it for as long as I can remember…"

_Crash!_

Chips of ice and water splashed everywhere. Yui's hand was shaking terribly.

"I-I'm sorry. It, it slipped." She managed to say before she seemed to retreat inside herself.

The waitress came by, saw the mess, and tried to wipe it up.

"Is everybody okay?" She asked, carefully picking up the pieces of glasses.

"Yeah, we're fine. Just a little accident." Mao explained.

"Let me get you another, on the house, sweetie." The waitress tucked the shards into a napkin and carried them away with her.

"Are you okay, Yui," her sister asked in an uncharacteristic display of concern, though it was likely that she was trying to seem like she cared and not to alarm Yusuke and Shuichi. Yui was a sensitive person. Judging by the mortified look on her face, she was getting ready to have a panic attack or nervous breakdown. Maybe even both?

Yui folded her arms across her chest, tightly holding her hands to her arms. Her head was kept downwards, eyes shadowed underneath the bangs of her wig.

"I-I think I want to go home now."

Mao sighed. "Alright." She stood up and Yui scooted her way out.

She said in a soft voice, head slightly raised. "You can stay here and finish your date. I'll walk home. B-by myself."

"Are you sure?" Mao asked. She hadn't really tried too hard to hide her joy.

"I could walk her home, if it'll make you feel better," Yusuke offered.

"No!" Yui somehow managed to raise her voice. Clearing her throat, she said again in a more polite tone. "No thank, I'd really rather just go home by myself. I-I need fresh air."

Before any of them could further protest, Yui fled the scene, many eyes following after her as she sprinted for the door and ran past the windows. She was still clutching her arms while she ran out into the streets.

"What's with her?" Yusuke asked.

Mao sighed as she sat back down. She propped her elbows on the table and began rubbing her temples.

"I don't know anymore. Over the past few years, she's been acting weird." She looked over at Yui's half eaten vegetarian burger. "We used to be best buddies, and now…we barely speak to each other. I don't even remember when it started."

* * *

The keys weren't willing to cooperate with her. Her hands were shaking too much. The door unlocked, after she had calmed herself down a little. But it wasn't enough.

Throwing the doors wide open, Yui closed the door again, slamming it home with a bang. She tore off her wig and the cap, throwing them some place but cared not for where. Her fingers were running through her hair in a hysterical manner. She ran to the only sanctuary in the house where she could unleash the unholy surge of emotion passing through her body. It wasn't her bedroom.

The stairs led her down to the basement. She threw open the door to the connecting garage, which was never in use. The door was secured and locked tightly behind her. There were no other doors; everything was sealed. She was now standing in a large room of concrete walls, floor, and ceiling. On one side was a cot and against another wall on the right hand side was a book case.

In the silence of the converted garage, Yui could hear how loud her heart was beating. She could hear how loud her breathing was. Most of all, she could hear how loud the invisible winds inside her head were blowing. The howling winds seemed to be saying 'let it out, let it go.' With all of her might, she forced these feelings back.

Her hands were wringing the gloves she wore. Her teeth nibbled on the ends of their fingers. Yes, she was a nail-biter. She was highly aware of the unhealthy implications of the habit but it wasn't likely that she cared at times when she felt like she was going to explode.

"Don't let go, don't let go. Conceal. Conceal." She would repeat to herself as she paced up and down the garage's concrete floor.

"Conceal, don't feel." Yui repeated as well as other mantras.

But was already too late. The freezing, howling wind that was in her brain was louder than her own voice. There was crackling beneath her feet. With horror, she looked at the ground. Her reflection was perfectly clear in the plate of ice she had unconsciously conjured. It continued to grow despite her best efforts. Its twisted, spiked fingers fanning out in all directions. It would creep up all along the four walls, up into the ceiling, and into every conceivable corner and crack.

Yui, who succumbed to the dark emotion of depression once the old memories flooded back of an incident she'd rather forget, weakly lumbered into the cot where she pulled at the numerous blankets piled high atop the mattress. Fine crystals formed on the topmost blanket. Yui crawled on top of the mattress, now bare of its coverings. Once situated, the blankets were thrown on top of her and her small hands pulled them and tucked them under her, around her. Trapped insider her hand-made cocoon, the world slipped into an icy coma.

She cried until she was drowsy.


	4. Chapter 4

Kurama held the still frozen piece of glass in his hand. He held it up to the light streaming from behind the curtains, a rainbow of colors filtering along the other side of his bedroom. Without anyone noticing, he snatched a piece of glass and placed it in his pocket. Solid crystals formed all around the smooth surface and when held to a light, created brilliant rainbows. The oddest thing about the broken glass was that it was cold, very cold, frozen even. It weighed almost nothing in his palm, yet had none of the characteristics of glass. By appearances, it looked more like a piece of crystalized rock than a piece of glass. He had a theory, but did not know how to test it, more importantly how would he break it to Koenma, to whom he was obligated to report any findings on demons?

Yui and Mao were completely different sisters, despite the fact that they were twins. Mao was clearly human. Her sister on the other hand was different, special. Kurama might even go on to say that Yui Kagami was more than human. Leaning in his chair, the glass continually held to the shaft of sunlight, created fractals behind him as he tried to think as far back as he could, trying to remember the first time he saw her, Yui that is. Classmates parted like the Red Sea for her and she was the subject of gossip and whispers. Any other girl her age would stand up defiantly. Yui instead chose to sneak into the corner and let them talk. She made herself scarce, invisible, and she was very good at it. Teachers complained that she missed answers on tests on purpose, but a few denials were all that were needed to refute their theory.

She had unnaturally pale skin, easily recognizable in a crowd. Her soft, wintery blue eyes, foreign and exotic in these parts, were often hid behind by a well-placed book or else she cast down her eyes to look at the floor while she walked, stood, or sat. He had seen her fidget with her hair and it was often that she would pick and scratch at it when she thought no one was looking. He had also caught her fixing it whenever she passed by a mirror or glass window. It wasn't out vanity, he was fairly certain of that. Then there were her leather gloves she wore all the time, even in the late summer days and early fall. She never once took them off. He assumed she took them off to wash her hands once in a while, but he had never seen her in public without them.

Mao was incredibly apprehensive of her sister. It went beyond sibling rivalry. There was coldness in their relationship. Yui seemed to know something her sister didn't and Mao resented her for it.

It bothered him. Yui Kagami was not normal. The piece of glass in his hand was all the proof he needed.

At the diner, when Mao mentioned the scar on her neck, Kurama sensed a spike in spiritual energy close by. As a matter of fact, it was from right across the table, only it wasn't Mao. He was still unsure how she was able to do it, but Yui must have been able to freeze the glass of water solid. It froze so quickly that the glass could not contain it and burst. He could tell she was lying when she said that it slipped. The incident may have been an accident but it certainly wasn't from dropping it on a table.

He glanced at the clock. It was three o'clock on a Sunday afternoon. Perhaps he could get some air and think more clearly afterwards? The four walls were becoming awfully stifling. He left the house, saying good-bye to his mother, who was reading on the couch. She trusted him. There was no reason to lie about where he was going. He would come back before it got dark.

He trudged through the busy streets of the city, brushing against strangers and dodging others. The city was alive, bursting to the brim with people spewing out into the streets from shopping centers and cars. The busy lights, traffic, and the deafening sound of conversations that reached all the way up to the atmosphere were things he had grown used to in the past fifteen years. He walked with the flow of foot traffic, stopping and turning when he pleased. The sun beat down on the pavement as he walked, burning up the back of his head. Still, his thoughts were getting any clearer. There were no significant clues that he could present to Koenma besides a shiny piece of glass. By four o'clock, he sat at a fountain, watching everyone else go by.

He didn't know how long he sat there. While Kurama sat by water fountain, its water cooling the air at his back, a figure rose from the crowd. A white shape carrying a purple duffle bag shifted through the crowd. As more and more people walked out of its path, for a brief moment he thought he saw a familiar face standing in the crowd. In a few short seconds, it was hidden, passers-by hiding it from his view. Immediately, he rose to his feet, but being careful not to look urgent or startled, not wanting to attract attention. He kept calm, stoic even, and made his way across the plaza where he had taken his rest by the bubbling fountain to chase the figure in the crowd. He did more pushing than brushing shoulders as he hunted down the figure. The purple duffle bag became his only clue, the only thing that made her stand out. As he drew nearer, he found that the figure was that of a young woman but her features were invisible to him. Her back was towards him, face and hands hidden by clothes and the crowd around them. Time and time again, he temporarily lost track of his target, only to find the purple duffle bag again like a big target mark on her back. He didn't know how long he went after her, silently and subtly stalking her, and he had no idea why he was following her in the first place. She had a familiar face, so what? For reasons he could not fully explain, Kurama followed his gut instinct. There was something familiar about her and his curiosity would not be satisfied until he knew who she was. Then she came to a large building. Kurama watched her enter from afar. He waited several minutes before crossing the streets in order to follow her inside.

Lady Okasa's, the sign boldly stated above the glass doors. He stopped at the door, peered inside. The duffle bag was disappearing from view, heading towards the well-lit center of the building, the actual ice rink no doubt. Looking through the glass, Kurama found not another soul. No one was standing at a cash register or anywhere. More to the point, how did she get in?

He took hold of the handle, pried it open, and carefully stepped inside. His keen eyes and ears were pried open, breathing controlled, and steps taken lightly. Banging like doors being flung open echoed from further inside, but he daren't run towards the sound, not rushing ahead anyways. He continued towards it as slowly as possibly. There was carpeting against his feet, which he was grateful for. The carpet beneath him softened his steps, making it that much easier to sneak in. Looking over his shoulder for other uninvited guests, he saw no one come in after him. He crept forward only to stop suddenly.

Music drifted down the long corridor leading. He heard it before, from where? It was a soft, but dramatic piece, classical if he wasn't mistaken. He followed it. The closer he drew, the sound became clearer. After a short while, he recognized it as a song from Swan Lake. He drew closer and closer, shielding his eyes from the bright lights.

The rink was a large oval surrounded all sides by bleachers stacked on top of another. Stairs descended downwards towards the ice floor which was center stage. A thick wall that must have reached his mid-section was built around the rink to protect skaters and those sitting in the bleachers. Glass walls reached further up, towards the ceiling and these were built on top of the plaster structures already set in place. The music came from a large CD player, probably set all the way on the highest possible volume setting, sat next to the same purple duffle bag he saw earlier. On the floor, he saw a pair of worn-out tennis shoes. And next to the C.D player was a wig of long black hair. Familiar long black hair.

Kurama looked up towards the rink, to find a young woman in the middle of rink, eyes closed, deep in concentration. Her movements were graceful, purposeful, and full of drama and artistry. Thin arms moved with the elegance of a swan's wing. Her legs jumped, leapt, danced, and spun as the music seemed to dictate. Her pale face nearly lost in the white ice. Plaited white hair flowed behind her. Without a hair out of place, she danced across the ice like a winter fairy, like she was born beneath a magic mountain. He couldn't help but notice the absolute serenity of her face.

He didn't bother sitting down, but did not move a single step closer. He watched her from a safe distance, not wishing to disturb and frighten her. He watched as she made grand sweeping motions with her arms and jumped in the air, ice trailing from the blades on her skates, circling her ankles. Yui seemed to be in her element.

The song was reaching its climax when she made the mistake of opening her eyes, even just a little. Her gaze glanced over in his direction. She did not expect someone to be there, watching her. All grace and training seemed to vanish into thin air. Yui panicked, her cheeks flushed. She looked over in his direction, unsure of what to do or what to say. She had become so startled and caught in a frenzy that she failed to see the oncoming glass wall fast approaching. Kurama didn't have time to warn her and she wouldn't have had time to stop even if he did. One of Yui's bright pink cheeks collided with the glass. It would have been comical if it been somebody else in different circumstances. Without thinking, he leaped through the open gate, sliding uneasily across the ice, nearly slipping himself. He somehow made it to her side. By then Yui had slid down the wall and balled herself up on the floor.

"Yui, are you alright?"

She mumbled something; however her arms covered her face. Embarrassment was a natural and expected reaction to the situation. He held out his hand to her. She shook her head.

"Please," he stated more kindly, "let me help you up."

"Don't….me." Her murmur was more audible, but nevertheless still incoherent.

"What?" He leaned in further to listen better.

"Don't come near me!" It was more of a warning than a threat.

"Why not?" He persisted.

Yui slowly raised her head. She fixed her gaze on her gloved hands. He could see small streams of tears running down her face and a bruise from where she ran into the wall.

"Just stay away," Yui whimpered.

She stood up on her own, pushing his arm away. Her arms were folded across her chest like she was trying to warm herself. Kurama could see that her nails were almost digging into her skin even through the fabric of her long-sleeved shirt. He watched her for a few seconds, listening to the sound of her soft cries and the blades cutting solemnly across the ice. He slid after her, more graceful this time.

"You don't need to be afraid. I know what you can do."

Yui paused. "My sister already told you that I figure skate, but I don't like having an audience."

Kurama reached inside his pocket where he kept the piece of frozen glass.

"That's not what I meant."

Whipping around on her skates, her blue eyes flashed with terror as he held out the piece of glass towards her.

"Y-you know?"

The ice rink seemed to grow colder. She covered her mouth; eyes widened with horror, and shook her head as if in denial. She stood still for a time, a long time it seemed. When was able to calm herself down, her breath was shaky and came out as raspy puff of cold mist. Yui skated towards him, visibly shaking. Once she was close enough, she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. They stood so close to each other, he could see their breaths as foggy mist. Her leather gloves creased as she held onto the fabric of his shirt tighter.

"Don't tell anyone! I'm begging you!" Yui pleaded, more tears flowing down her cheeks, the white in her eyes puffy and red. "Not even my sister knows what I can do. Please, don't tell anyone!"

Kurama grabbed one of her wrists and easily pried it off of his shirt. He opened her palm and placed the glass piece in her palm. Closing her fingers around it, he gave her hand a tight squeeze before releasing it.

"I have no intention of revealing your secret to your sister. It's safe with me."

Yui's bright blue eyes scrutinized him. She stared. She examined him like he was some sort of specimen.

"And how do you suppose that I trust you? You're a stranger to me. How do I know that my secret is safe with you? Only myself and my mom know what I can do. What's in it for you?"

To which he replied, "I suppose for someone like you, you can't. It's because you don't trust anybody, not even yourself."

Yui blushed angrily and turned away. "You know nothing about me."

"Perhaps not." He answered. "But wouldn't it be better if you had at least one other person on your side."

"Don't you understand?" Yui said suddenly. "I can't get close to people. All I'm capable of is hurting people. It's better if you stay away from me!"

Kurama carefully stepped closer. "And who told you that?"

"N-nobody. It's something I discovered a long…_long_ time ago. Just leave me be!"

Yui turned her back on him. Kurama stood there and just looked at her. He sighed softly and began to walk. He drew close to her but only their shoulders touched and even then barely. Yui flinched at his touch.

He gave her one glance and then he quietly left.

Yui felt relieved and yet terribly frightened. Everywhere she looked, she thought she saw his face. His shape at school became a ghostly shadow she ran away from. She was paranoid. She was afraid of what he might say now that he knew her secret.

For the next week, Yui stayed as far away from the one she knew as Shuichi Minamino. Mao was more than pleased. But despite that she gained more time talking to him, the more she sensed that his mind was elsewhere. She would glare at Yui for no other reason other than jealousy.

But that didn't stop him from sneaking into the rink when Yui was there the following Sunday. This time, she didn't end up getting hurt when she saw him. She blushed, turned away, and went inside the rink. Kurama proved to be more stubborn than she thought. She knew it was becoming a problem when he show up a third, fourth, and fifth time. However, by then she had grown accustomed to it, to him. Then there came the day that she looked forward to it.

* * *

Yui couldn't help but hear her own heart pounding inside her chest. She packed her ice skates, her practice skates that showed their age with wear and tear. The zipper was closed in a hurry. The duffel bag was slung over her shoulder, the weight of the CD player and skates weighing almost nothing. It felt like nothing. Yui noticed had suddenly come to that realization. It must have been a trick on the mind. Nothing changed. Or at least, that's what she told herself. She paused at the mirror. She looked deeply into the reflective blue pools and adjusted her wig. Her cheeks were flush, painted soft pink like budding roses. They were warm to the touch, a new sensation.

A knock at her bedroom door nearly made Yui jump out of her skin. Mao entered, without permission, and regarded her sister.

"Where are you off to?"

"Where I usually go on Sundays, to the ice rink."

"Mom wants to know what time you'll be back."

Yui paused. "I don't know. Probably before dinner."

Mao looked at her, noticed the duffel bag, and seemed to believe Yui. She didn't know why she wouldn't. She wasn't lying. She was going to the ice rink. Yui was only sparing her sister from the fact that she was going to be meeting Shuichi over there. It felt so wrong to hang out with him knowing that Mao had a crush. Maybe she, Yui, felt like she needed to have a little revenge. Though she never felt hatred for her twin, and while she would never intentionally steal a boy away from her, Yui kind of wanted this to happen. Shuichi was the one person outside of their family who she trusted with her secret. Well, had begun to trust anyway.

At any rate, Yui wasn't romantically involved with Shuichi. Well, maybe. After a while, she couldn't tell anymore.

With Mao being the way she is, she decided it best not to tell her. "Are you meeting a boy?" Mao chuckled.

Yui's cheeks were completely inflamed now.

"No, no! Why, why would you think that?"

Mao laughed again, but not an evil sort of laugh. She was genuinely happy for her sister, which was rare, very rare these days.

"Because you've been extra enthusiastic about your skating lately. I had a feeling you and Yusuke could hit it off. Even after you were clumsy enough to drop that glass at the diner."

Yui could have sighed with relief if her sister hadn't been standing there. For a while, she thought that Mao had found out about her little secret.

"Well," Mao clapped her hand on Yui's shoulder, startling her again, "have fun. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." And with that she left Yui to stand alone in her bedroom.

"Are you sure you don't want to join me today?" Yui finished tightening the laces on her skates.

Shuichi sat on the bench, a stack of books next to him.

"I have a few pieces of homework I need to catch up on, but I'll be more than happy to watch. I just don't have time to join in today, but thank you anyway."

Yui couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. There was a tiny pin-prick in her chest. She smiled, despite this, turned up the volume on the CD player, and pressed the PLAY button. At least with this time she would be able to think without looking to find Shuichi's face right in front of her. It was much easier to concentrate with him not as close. She was afraid that he would see her blush.

That was the least of her worries. Mao was used getting things done her way and whatever she wanted, she usually got. Yui wasn't strong enough to stand on her own. Their mother would have to come in and put an end to the fighting. She wouldn't take either girl's side, but from Mao's perspective it seemed a bit cruel to hang out with a boy your sister liked, and not tell him. Come to think of it, how did Shuichi feel about this? He always seemed so aloof to people outside of his little bubble. Yui didn't know that much about him either. Sure they talked, but rarely about anything outside of school. She only knew of one friend and he didn't even attend high school. Despite how wrong the situation was, Yui wanted to know more about Shuichi Minamino, the mysterious, even-tempered guy that she entrusted with the family secret. Other than him, it was only Yui and her mom who knew about her special abilities. It was kept secret from Mao ever since that day.

Yui faltered a little in her turns and pivots. Shuichi seemed to notice too. He had raised his head to watch her skate, and noticed how her turns weren't as fluid as before.

"Is there something on your mind?" He asked over the sound of the rising crescendo.

Yui shook her head and answered back, preparing her body for a spin. "No."

Shuichi didn't go back to his books. He put them aside for the moment, and went to the rink. Yui pulled off her spin, hundreds of tiny ice particles flew in the air. However, there was something wrong. She knew it and he knew it. Something was on her mind. She skated to that edge of the rink, one hand gripping her arm as she stared pitifully at the rink.

"You seem distracted."

Yui tried to find the right words to say. She could feel the heat starting to rise up in her cheeks. A blush was coming on, but she didn't want Shuichi to see it. That would only make her blush even more.

"It's just...it's just that, um, you know about me. A lot about me." She chewed on her lower lip. She fought the urge to sink her teeth into her nail. "But I don't know anything about you, other than the stuff at school. There's not a lot we have in common."

"And does this bother you?" It was hard to tell how he felt or what he meant by that. Yui decided to give him a benefit of a doubt and not take it as an insult.

* * *

"Mao, your sister left her phone on her desk. Could you take it to her please?"

The girl groaned. "I was about to go to the mall with some friends."

"You can give it to her on the way over there."

"But the ice rink she goes to isn't anywhere near the mall."

Mrs. Kagami gave Mao this look, the sort of look all parents use when they have stubborn children.

"I don't care. I don't like the idea of your sister being out without her cell phone."

Mao grumbled something under her breath.

"What was that young lady?"

"Nothing, Mom." Mao marched to her sister's room, and found the thing still sitting on her desk.

You'd better say thank you later.

"Thank you, sweetie."

"Whatever," Mao mumbled as she started for the stairs and out the door. She put on a pair of sandals and made her way to the bus stop.

While she sat on the bus, she texted her friends to let them know she was going to be late. Emiko implied that Yui must have done it on purpose. Mao almost wanted to believe her. It was a little known fact, well, a dark secret actually that Mao was jealous of Yui. After all, she was the one who got all the attention in school and at home. Mom poured endless amount of affection on Yui simply because she was shy, meek, and sometimes weak-willed. As best as Mao could do with her grades and as hard as she did her best in everything, Yui's well-being was the most important thing. But Mao would never let anyone know that. Yet, at the same time, she couldn't believe that Yui was capable of doing anything wrong. It was not in her nature to be malicious or mean, which was why it was so easy for other people to pick on her. She kind of brought it on herself, actually. Mao replied that she didn't care, and got off the bus across the corner from rink. She wanted to get to the mall as soon as possible. Jumping rather than walking up the stairs, Mao pushed open the doors only to find two voices coming from the darkened corridor leading to the stadium-built ice rink.

One voice definitely belonged to her sister, however the other one was...No, it couldn't be. It couldn't be him. Yui was smart enough to know where not to tread. The voices were growing louder, coming closer. Mao looked around her for a place to hide. Yui couldn't have been dumb enough to do what Mao was thinking. She couldn't. She wouldn't. She was far too nice to pull a stunt like this.

Her eyes were dulled by the poor lighting. The only ones were coming from the glass windows and doors, but even those were poor. Her eyes weren't getting used to the shade fast enough. Their voices were getting closer. She couldn't let Shuichi think she was spying on them, at least spying on them without getting caught. Mao edged towards the darker shadows, quickly and quietly. She managed to duck behind a trash can and wait like a lion stalking its prey.

It took every fiber of self-control to keep herself from launching like a rocket from behind the trash can and rip through her sister's eye balls. It was Shuichi. Yui was with Shuichi even though she knew how her sister felt about him. She was dating him behind her back! Mao's knuckles tighten in her hands; her nails pricked her palms causing small droplets of blood to flow.

"I-I'm not all good with people. I-I don't get around a lot." Yui sounded frightened. She should be after what she did to Mao.

"Why is that?"

Yui didn't say anything at first. "I-I don't know."

Her trade mark stammering was getting on Mao's nerves. Rather than reveal herself, she kept hidden in the shadows, quietly watching them. They left without ever even noticing Mao, but went on their merry way. When the doors closed behind them, Mao rose from her hiding spot, cheeks flushing. She forgot all about the mall and giving Yui her cell phone. She forgot all about what their mom had told her. She dumped the cell phone into the trash can and bolted for the door. Shuichi and Yui were already gone, disappearing into the crowd or hopped onto another bus. Mao stalked to the nearest bench and sat down, fuming, thinking of ways to get back at her sister. She thought and she silently raged. There had been something that would make her sister pay without their mom knowing about it. It had to be heartbreaking, but not humiliating. Something that would keep Mom out of the loop, but, at the same time, teach Yui a lesson. Then, as her bus slowly rolled to a stop in front of her, Mao finally came up with an idea, a terribly, awful idea. She grabbed the bus, rode it home, and went inside the house. Mom had disappeared to go to work again, leaving Mao to her own evil devices.

She went into Yui's room, throwing the phone unto her bed. Rummaging through the desk drawers, tossing a few things aside, she found what she was looking for. It was an old blue velvet box stuck in the very back of a desk draw, hidden by pencil cases, note cards, and a tiny booklet on German cathedrals. Mao took the box in her greedy hands and slowly opened it. The hinge opened with a creak and she noticed the light layer of dust smothering the pads of her fingers as she opened the box. Sitting on the smooth interior was Yui's most prized possessions, the last thing their father gave her before disappearing. Yui never believed that he abandoned the three of them, but Mao didn't consider herself so naive. The gift was a large medallion, shaped like a dragon. Its white serpentine body coiled around the head, forming a great circle. The artisan paid close attention to detail; definitive scales, carefully carved into the material were rough to the touch like real lizard skin. The dragon's head and front claws greeted the observer with a fierce and even frightening look. The dragon opened wide its mouth, showing of his impressive fangs. In his right claw he held onto a silver pearl and his eyes were of some kind of blue gem stone, sapphires maybe.

Mao took the medallion, chain and all, and replaced the box inside the drawer. She smiled at the weight in her hand. Leaving the room after putting things back where they belonged, Mao pocketed the medallion and tapped on it, smiling to herself. The next thing she did was walk over to the nearest pawn shop. Yui rarely looked at it. She wouldn't know it was missing until Mao told her. She was looking forward to seeing that look of stupefied horror and betrayal on Yui's face. For once, her sister would show some kind of emotion.


	5. Chapter 5

Yui sat awkwardly with her hands in her lap. She rarely looked up from her teacup. After several minutes, she found herself staring at her reflection in the murky brown tea. The conversations around her were loud. These were the friends Shuichi hung out with? Yui was kind of expecting ones who weren't so...rambunctious.

The one they called Kuwabara seemed alright enough, a bit dimwitted, but kind and very strong in character. Yusuke, she had already met, but now that she saw more of his character, she found him to be less impressive. He was often loud, rude, and liked to think of himself as a tough guy. He wasn't obnoxious about his masculinity, but he certainly wasn't about to admit he watched chick-flicks for amusement. He seemed a little smarter than Kuwabara, however not by much. Then there was Botan, a strange girl, if Yui said so. Then again, who was Yui to call someone else strange? Botan's blue hair may as well have been dyed while Yui's winter-white locks were with her from birth. She seemed smart, friendly, admittedly bubbly even, yet she was also the kind of woman who could handle her own among these boys.

Then there was the one they called Hiei. He said even less than Yui did and was silently brooding in the corner as if he didn't want to be there in the first place. On occasion, when she bothered to look up from her cup of tea, their eyes met, maybe once or twice. He didn't quite glare at her like at all the others in the room, but there was something about him that told her to keep her distance from him. Yui, much like her mother, was a decent judge of character. The other three were far more compatible. With Hiei, it might be best to steer clear of him.

"What's the matter, Yui?" Botan wrapped her arm around Yui's shoulder like they had been best friends since forever.

Yui winced at the sudden touch of human contact. She tried not to let Botan see it. Carefully, she looked up and turned to her, giving the other girl a soft smile.

"I'm fine, just a little weird right about now." It was miracle that didn't stammer this time. She supposed that she was getting used to their company by now.

"What's to feel weird about? We're all friends here. You couldn't be more strange than this bunch even if you tried." She could tell that she was trying to cheer Yui up, but it wasn't working very well.

Yui turned back to her teacup, and whispered bitterly, "Do you want to bet?"

"Shuichi, you have a very strange taste in women," Botan whispered to him but Yui could still hear them.

"Yui is very shy person."

"Can't say much for her sister though." Yusuke chimed in lowly.

Yui turned towards Yusuke, frowning.

"I must ask that you don't speak about my sister that way."

Everyone in the room was generally surprised by her reaction. Yui had barely said a word, but the first time her sister is mentioned, she's the first to speak up. The first to speak up in her defense at that, too!

Yusuke lazily leaned on his elbow with a disgusted scowl on his face.

"I mean, no offense, but your sister is not the most pleasant person in the world. She's kind of bossy, not to mention a bit full of herself and snarky."

"I just told you not to talk about my sister like that," the teacup was slammed to the table. "Despite her character flaws, she is still my sister, and I don't appreciate you talking about her like that. So please, stop." Yui took a deep breath before taking up her cup again and took a sip. When she set it down again, it was obvious that she wasn't used to showing off her emotions.

The room was silent. You could hear a pin drop. Yui rose from her seat, briefly excusing herself. She rushed to find the nearest bathroom and hide herself there. She sat on the closed toilet seat, burying her face in her hands. She didn't like being angry. It didn't feel good. Taking her hands away from her face, her fingers still trembled. Yui tried to take some slow, deep breaths to calm herself down. Staying like this for at least ten minutes, she lost track of time without a watch or her cell phone. Once she thought it was okay for her rejoin the others, Yui stood up, left the bathroom, and made her way back to the dining room. But then she stopped just as she heard Shuichi's voice, her hand still remaining on the sliding shoji door.

"If you call that control. One look at her and you can tell she's emotionally crippled," it was Hiei. "Shoving her hands in a pair of gloves and hiding herself from people isn't called control, Kurama. It's called denial and cowardice."

There wasn't anything else she wanted or needed to hear.

Yui slammed open the shoji door. They hadn't realized that she had been standing there the whole time. Her blue eyes were burning like hot embers, ears turning red; the only time she ever had any kind of color to her pale, pale face. Those fiery blue eyes shot a nasty look at every single person in the room, glaring at each of them one by one until she stopped at Shuichi. Tears threatened to spill over in each corner of her eyes. Shuichi or Kurama or whatever nickname he went by with his friends sat there looking every bit remorseful.

"Yui let me explain..."

"I trusted you," Yui started. "I trusted you with my secret and you went behind my back." There was no point in stopping the tears which quickly fell and just as quickly turned to thin little icicles just as quickly. There was a sickening cracking sound as her salt tears, hot and bitter, suddenly froze as they rolled down her cheeks, only to stop and freeze at random times. She could feel her blood turning colder and colder.

"Yui, I'm sorry." He immediately stood up and tried to approach her.

She shot her arms out and pushed him back.

"It wasn't your secret to tell. I trusted you! I trusted you and you told your friends that I'm a...I'm some kind of circus freak!"

"That's not what they think," his efforts were pretty much useless by now. Yui would have none of it.

"No! You just don't get, do you, Shuichi or whatever your name! You just don't get it," she ran her hands through her hair until her tiny pale fingers were knotted well into her wig, threatening to tear it off her head completely, and reveal another secret. "I trusted you with a secret and you betrayed me! What else is there for you to explain! It wasn't your secret. You should have asked me! But you didn't!"

She wrapped her arms around herself, the freezing in her blood becoming too much. Shuichi still tried to get close to her.

"I'm terribly sorry," he sounded like he meant it, but Yui couldn't bring herself to believe him. Was this his plan all along? Get to know her, be her friend, find out her secret just to tell his friends about the freak show that he knows? "I can explain if you'd just listen..."

"NO!"

He had never hear Yui Kagami raise her voice to anyone. It was the belief of everyone who met her that she was nothing more than a soft-spoken, shy, even anti-social, teenage girl. Yui had never given anyone any reason to believe that she had emotions or could act on them.

The air became bitterly cold. It was as if the AC had been turned on to the maximum level.

He took one step too close. Yui shoved him backwards with her hands. Shuichi fell to his back, landing on top of Yusuke, who barely had time to catch him. Two frosty white hand prints were pressed into the front of his shirt. The hand prints on his shirt were cold through and through. It was like he had been touched by a snowman. The cold areas nearly froze him to the bone. Yui stared at him, or rather at his shirt, in horror. She stared at her hands which were now trembling violently.

"Yui," Shuichi said softly.

Her head shot up. Her quivering lips were turning a light shade of blue and he thought he saw mist escaping from between her teeth.

"Don't," she shook her head. "You can't...you mustn't touch me." More tears ran down her face, which meant more icicles scaring up her pretty face. She turned and ran away.

She kept running and running even as she heard voices calling after her. Yui somehow found the nearest exit and ran outside. Her eyes darted this way and that just to find a place to hide. Her blood was growing colder by the second. It was getting out of hand. She had to find a place to isolate herself before she accidentally turned somebody into an ice sculpture. Her breath was already turning into mist.

There…across the field. There stood a rickety old shack. To Yui, it was a safe house given by the gods. The voices were closing in on her. Shuichi and his friends weren't far behind. She bolted for the little shed. Her hands, despite the growing cold spreading throughout her body, managed to grab the handle and pry open the door. She slammed it shut behind just at the tiny room, and the door itself, began to freeze. In a matter of minutes, the door was frozen shut and a light dusting of frost was spreading around all around her, covering every nook and cranny. All of the rusty gardening tools and a pile of fire wood covered in frost and ice. That's when Shuichi knocked on the door.

"Yui? Are you in there?"

"Go away," she answered. Yui didn't know if she was embarrassed or terrified. Both. Definitely both.

"Please come out. You can't stay in there like that. You'll freeze."

"The cold never bothered me before." Her voice dropped to a mere whisper, one that he could barely hear.

"You've done this before?" He must have been distracted by something; his voice whispered to someone else, probably one of his friends. "Do you always do this…when you're upset?"

Yui stopped talking at this point. Another layer of ice covered everything within and without. She just wanted to disappear.

* * *

"This isn't good." Kurama stared at the abandoned shed as the ice covered every inch of it. The door was frozen solid. There was no way they would have been able to move it, not even an inch. This was what Yui must have been so afraid of, losing control of herself.

"If that's the worst thing she can do, I can easily cut through it," Hiei was already beginning to draw his sword of its sheath.

Kurama grabbed his hand and stopped him.

"That's the last thing we want to do. You'd scare her half to death!"

"And I suppose you'd let her starve herself to death by staying in there." He placed the sword back in its place. "If you have a better idea, then go do it. If not, the sword."

"As a matter a fact, I will," he turned quickly around and reached for his phone. He dialed as fast as his fingers would allow. He waited impatiently for someone to pick up. The other line must have been ringing for a while, an eternity it seemed.

"Kagami residence, Mao speaking." The sister's voice answered.

"Mao, is your mother home?"

"Shuichi, what a surprise! I didn't expect you to call!" She completely ignored his question.

"Mao, I need to speak with your mother. Is she home?"

"My mom?" Mao sounded puzzled. "No, I think she's still at work. I can give you her number, but what's this about?"

"I'll tell you later, just give me her number."

"Alright, alright…"

Mao ran off the phone number to him. He didn't need a pen and paper. As soon as he remembered, he gave Mao a short thank and hung up. He was sure he left her confused and even a bit miffed, but there was no time to worry about her feelings. He'd deal with that later. Yui's uncontrollable power was a more pressing issue than the hissy fit her sister might throw the next time she saw him at school. He distinctly remembered that Yui had said that she and her mother were the only ones knew about her abilities, inside their family. If there was one person who might know how to draw Yui out of the shack it would be her mother.

"You've reached Yoshiro Tech Incorporated. This is Yuki Kagami. How can I help you?"

"Hello, I'm Shuichi Minamino. I go to Meiou with your daughters."

"Oh, yeah. Mao's been talking about you a lot. What can I do for you?"

He hated to be the bearer of bad news, however… One glance over his shoulder made him wince. There was no chance they would be able to get Yui to thaw out the shack by themselves and Hiei's sword was out of the question.

"It's actually about your other daughter, Yui."

The phone went silent for a while. "Give me a second." He heard her place the phone on its side, and then she walked away and shut a door somewhere. Mrs. Kagami took a deep breath before picking up the phone again.

"Is there something wrong with Yui? Is she hurt?"

"No, it's just…I don't know how to put this."

"Did she hurt someone?" Her mother's voice was becoming frightened and more anxious by the second. He might as well come out and tell her the truth.

"I know about Yui's power…and now she's locked herself up. We don't know how to get her out."

"We?" She sounded as if all of her worst nightmares had come true.

"Yes, my friends know. But I assure you that I meant no harm—"

"Give me the address," Mrs. Kagami interrupted him. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

* * *

It seemed hours before she arrived. She sprinted up the huge temple steps, in high heels no less. They had to give her credit for that. Mrs. Kagami wasn't quite what they expected her to be. She was a woman of medium height, but still seemed threatening in every way. She had an aura about her, a domineering aura. She appeared to be the kind of woman who liked to get her way and anybody who opposed her would be shot down. Mao clearly got her looks from her mother. It was obvious that Yui inherited nothing from her mother except the shape of her eyes. Mrs. Kagami had deep black hair tied into a pony-tail, a couple of pencils were still tucked away like hair sticks from the time she left her work, wherever and whatever that was. Her sharp dark eyes glared at everything that moved. They led her to the field and she suddenly stopped when her eyes rested on the old shack. By now it looked more like an ice cube than a shed.

"How did this happen?" Her voice nearly shuddered. "It's never been this bad before."

Nobody had time to answer her. Mrs. Kagami bolted for the shed; she knocked on the door, but could Yui hear a thing her mother's voice through the thick sheets of ice?

"Yui, Yui sweetie. It's me. Why don't you thaw the door, Yui? Let me take you home. Can you do that for me? Can you open the door for your mom?" Mrs. Kagami was on the brink of tears when didn't reply back.

"Yui, please!" She begged, tears coming out the corner of her eyes. "Just let me in. I just want to take you home. I'll take you home and make you a cup of tea. Your favorite, chamomile with honey and vanilla. Please, thaw the door for me, sweetie."

The mother's words were enough to cut through anything, with the exception of Hiei of course. There was a great amount of desperation in Mrs. Kagami's voice. It seemed that this wasn't the first time Yui and locked herself up and sealed herself in an icy tomb.

Her words eventually reached Yui. The ice began to thaw at an incredible rate. As soon as the last patch of ice melted, Mrs. Kagami was able to open the door at last. She found Yui tucked away in the corner, hugging her knees to her chest. The icicles under her eyes hadn't completely melted yet. She knelt in of Yui, trying to smile. But it was so hard to smile when you see your child in pain and terrified. She had to do her best. Yui needed to be home right now.

"Come here, sweetie. Everything is going to be just fine. Why don't we go home?"

Yui said nothing, only nodding her head slowly. She hesitantly took her mother's hand and her head was cradled next to her warm heart. They left the shed behind. Kurama saw that they made it to Mrs. Kagami's car alright. Yui slid into the back seat, lying down.

Her face. Kurama couldn't get that awful picture out of his head. She looked so sad and alone. She had every right to be angry.

"Take a good look at your handiwork, young man. That's the face of a young woman who didn't need your crap. And that young woman happens to be my daughter!" Mrs. Kagami let her rage be known. If she could, she'd scream it on top of a mountain so people could hear it from miles around. However, for now, she could make do with having having the boy as a captive audience.

"Mrs. Kagami," he started but never finished.

"Don't start with me, _boy_," her black eyes looked like the eyes of a bird of prey. With her manicured nails, she could very easily claw his own out too. "Yui, for some reason, trusted you. I don't know what you did to her or how she let you in, but you best forget about her! You are going to stay far away from her. Do you understand me?"

He didn't know why it stung, but it did.

"Yes, ma'am."

Mrs. Kagami continued to glare at him even as she got into her car. She rolled down her window and started the car.

"I don't want to see you going near Yui, or Mao for that matter. Don't come near my family or you'll regret it." She hissed, almost spitting with rage.

The window was rolled up. Her seat belt was drawn across her waist. She shifted into driving gears. Kurama stood there, dumb as a rock, until the red taillights disappeared into the night.

Why did it sting so much?

* * *

Yui wrapped herself up in her blankets at nine in the morning. Mao was nowhere to be seen. She left for school already. Her mother knocked on the door and entered.

"Yui, sweetie, I called the school and told them you were sick," she placed something on Yui's desk. "I'm sorry about what happened last night."

Yui heard her mother's footsteps approach the bed. The mattress shifted as she sat down next to Yui who was busy hiding herself under the safety of her blankets. Her hand patted the round shape of Yui's head buried underneath the blue comforter.

"I wish I didn't have to go on this business trip. How about on Sunday, after I come back, you and I can go ice skating. Just you and me, like when you and your sister were kids, and then we go get ice cream. How does that sound?"

"Fine," Yui mumbled.

Her mother pecked her on her temple. "Feel better soon."

She left and closed the door behind her. Yui had never felt more alone. She didn't want to think about him, but she did. She couldn't easily get him out of her head. It made the hallow feeling in her chest even worse. She wanted to see his smile, but it only made her feel worse. Not only did he betray her, Mao still liked him. Yui liked him just as much as her sister did. She started to think that this was punishment for liking Shuichi. She knew Mao liked him. She should have stayed away from him.

It didn't matter now. It was over. She didn't know if she ever wanted to go back to the ice rink now. After spending so many Sundays there, with him, it seemed impossible. She couldn't look at the place anymore, not even if she tried. It would be too painful.

Little icicles pooled around her eyes and stuck to the pillow beneath her head. Suddenly, the room was ice cold, and no matter how tight she hugged her blanket, she couldn't get warm. She needed something to make her feel better. Yui sat up in bed, wrapped from her head to her toes in her blanket like a mummy. She went to her desk, opening the drawer. Her hands reached out from underneath the blankets and went to retrieve the velvet box. The velvet was old and the hinges creaked as she opened it.

Her weak hands dropped the box and it barely missed her foot. It was missing. Her medallion, her father's last gift before he disappeared, was missing. There was only one person who would want to take it. The blanket pooled around her ankles.

"Mao."

Yui wanted to cry. The tears were welling up and stinging her eyes, but she didn't want to believe that her sister would do such a thing. She had no reason to. Unless...

"Mao," Yui was standing in front of her sister, dressed in regular clothes instead of a uniform, her hands shoved inside a pair of gloves.

Mao glared at her. "What?"

"Where is it?"

"Where's what?"

"My medallion, the one Dad gave me, the one that's supposed to be in my desk drawer. Where is it?" Yui couldn't hide how bad she was shaking. She couldn't keep her legs and arms still.

A small crowd of students were already gathering to watch the carnage. The first thing Yui found out when she walked in, unexpectedly, was that Mao was in a foul mood. That should have been the first sign of trouble. She had been wondering why Mao hadn't spoken to her since the day before. She should have known that Mao knew everything. That was the only explanation. She couldn't believe that Mao was capable of being so cruel.

"Why would I know where that piece of junk is?"

"It's not a piece of junk!" Yui didn't like to raise her voice, but she felt like she wasn't in control of her body anymore. "Dad gave me that medallion before he left-"

"You still believe that Dad just simply disappeared?" Mao hissed. "When will it get through your head that he abandoned us?"

"Dad wasn't like that!"

It quickly became claustrophobic. Yui tried scanning the crowd circling around them, trying to find at least one sympathetic face. They all seemed to be watching like they were watching a sideshow at the Spring Festival. There was not a friendly face among them. At least, not a friendly face for her. Yui was the outcast, the social pariah. Who would care about her? No one had ever stepped in for her before. Who would step up to defend her?

"Then what was he like?" Mao's voice was like acid. "What was Dad like before he left us? Do you remember what it was like living with two parents? Because I don't! And frankly, I'm tired of you acting like you're so superior because you seem to remember him and I can't."

Yui watched as the students turned to each other. A storm of gossip and whispers swirled around her.

"And, yeah, I stole your stupid medallion and sold to Old Man Soji's pawn shop two blocks away from our house."

Yui clapped her hand over her mouth. She removed it slowly, fighting not to cry in front of these people.

"Why my medallion?" Her mouth was so dry and the thump in her throat was so big she couldn't push it back or swallow it.

Mao didn't say anything at first. She glared at Yui for ages. Sharp needles were pricking Yui's chest. She couldn't breathe. If she had to stand there for much longer, her knees were going to cave in on her. Her legs were shaking uncontrollably. Mao's harsh gaze nearly broke her. Her own sister...would do something so horrible.

Bittersweet memories came flooding back. Yui couldn't remember what their father's face looked like, not for sure anyway, but she remembered his voice. Mao wasn't entirely correct when she said that Yui remembered him. There were bits and pieces still missing. But the one thing she did remember very well was the day that their father gave her the family medallion.

_"Yui," her father's face was masked by some strange light in her memories._

_"Yes, Dad?" She looked up at him, but she could not see his face._

_"I'm going to be going away for a while."_

_"Where?"_

_"Somewhere far. I'm going to find a way to keep you, your mother and your sister safe. There's someone I have to find. I have to make sure he doesn't find you and try to hurt you, any of you, ever again. Can you be strong for me, Yui?"_

_A tiny icicle ran down her cheek. "But Mao...I hurt her."_

_"You were doing a brave thing to save your sister. You need to practice using your powers, so you can protect your mother and sister while I'm gone. Never be afraid of your powers, princess."_

_Yui felt a weight fall around her neck. Her little hands picked up a medallion that was twice the size of her palms put together. A silver dragon rested in her hands, its jeweled eyes commanding her respect._

_"This is my gift to you. Keep it close to you. Keep it remember me by and remember who you are. You are strong. You must believe that," and kissed her forehead._

"Because it's the one thing that would hurt you the most. After what you did to me, you deserved it."

The whispers grew louder.

"You've been trying to steal him from me this whole time. I saw you two at the ice rink, lying snake! I told you to stay away from him and what do you do? You go behind my back and steal him from me! You act like saint. You pretend to be nothing but a goody-two-shoes, a perfect student and daughter. All I see a lying, back-stabbing, two-face slut! I wish you were never born!"

That did it. Yui sunk to her knees. She looked around, but could only see sneering, judgmental faces. They only knew half of the story, but their minds were already made up. Yui faced only cold stares and sneering lips.

"That is enough," a voice hollered over the crowd, silencing them.

Shuichi Minamino pushed his way through the angry mob. Mao was stunned, a look of confusion and shock.

"Shuichi-kun," Mao started.

"I don't want to hear from you, Mao." He gave her a cold stare. "No matter what she did, your behavior is inexcusable. More to the point, you have no claim over of me. If you respected me as you say you are, you would never bar any girl, including your sister, from speaking with me. What you have done is not only disrespectful, it is immature and shallow."

"But I-"

"And to wish your own sister dead is beyond cruel. I expected better from you." He turned on his heel. The crowd was dead silent. They watched as he stooped down to whisper something to Yui. His voice was so low no one but Yui could hear him.

She nodded and got to her feet, shaking. He took her by the arms. She covered her face with her hands.

The students dispersed with the bell. Shuichi and Yui vanished behind the crowd. Mao could no longer make out his long red hair. She was left standing in the hallway, a lead weight tied around her heart. Digging into her bag, she pulled out the pawn shop receipt. She only kept it in case Mom found out and forced her to get the medallion back. At this rate, Mom might never find out. But the piece of paper in her hand felt like a brick and only got heavier and heavier. The longer she stared at it the black letters printed on the little slip of paper seemed to be judging her like they were people.

"Miss Kagami, are you going to stand there all day?" Mr. Okumura, the math teacher, stood in the doorway of her next class.

Mao tucked the receipt back into her bag. "I'll be right there."

"Why are you doing this?" Yui whispered as Kurama walked her home.

"I couldn't leave you there with those vultures."

"You're going to get in trouble for skipping school. And...I'm fine on my own. You didn't need to walk me home."

"I insist." His hand never left her arm.

She stopped and pulled him off to the side of the street. The icicles under her eyes were melting and left streaks down her face. Her eyes were hard as rocks, her face serious.

"Why are you doing this? You told your friends about my powers and now you're trying to save me from my sister's wrath. Just who do you think you are?"

"May I explain the situation...in private." He paused and looked over his shoulders to check for any truancy officers. "I am sorry that it happened. If you really want to know the truth, I will tell you. Everything you want to know, I will be happy to tell you. To make up for what I've done."

Yui thought for a moment. She remembered what her mom said to him the night before and she would have a cow if she knew that Yui had a boy over when she wasn't home. Then again, she wouldn't find out either.

"Alright," Yui sighed, agreeing against her better judgment. "I'll make some tea. But you better not leave anything out. I want to know everything."

* * *

Mao rushed out of the school grounds and headed straight for the pawn shop. Her friends didn't even get a chance to speak with her, and all they wanted to talk about was Yui and Shuichi and how she betrayed her. Somehow, Mao didn't want to listen to them, not today and maybe not for a long, long time. Something that Shuichi said, probably about her being cruel and immature, that gave her a good slap in the face. It was a wake-up call. She should have looked closely at Yui, who was on her knees trying not to cry. When had her sister ever cried outside of her bedroom? She had never seen Yui on the brink of destruction before. And Shuichi wouldn't stand up for her if she had done anything wrong. Mao couldn't believe that Shuichi was gullible to fall for any tricks, and neither was Yui capable of being as conniving as Mao thought she was. Shuichi also wasn't the kind of guy who would stick up for anybody, he minded his own business. He must have known something that Mao didn't in order to defend Yui from her sister's verbal attacks.

She ran past her house. The sun was already setting. Mao glanced at her watch. Old Man Soji was going to be closing his store in the next half hour. Pushing her legs to their very limit, Mao ran all the way there. She was left huffing and puffing, exhausted, but the store was still open, the white 'OPEN' sign still hanging in the glass door.

Mao pushed it open and entered. She was once again greeted by the smell of dust, rusty medal, and cigarette smoke. Old Man Soji was in his usual place, sitting behind the large display counter, smoking. The burning blunt of his cigarette stuck between his yellowed teeth was dying, its tiny ember dying away. His gray, baggy eyes looked at her and he set aside the newspaper he had been reading. She was sweating, panting for breath, and some of her hair was sticking to the side of her face.

"What are you doing here? Come back for the necklace you sold me already?" He wheezed then spat into the trash bin sitting next to him.

"Please," Mao pleaded, "I need it back. It's not even mine to begin with. I was angry at my sister, who really is the owner of the medallion, and that's why I sold it you. But I need it back right away! I brought the receipt," she dug into her bag and held it out and the check in the other hand. "And the check you paid me with."

"Alright," his gruff voice echoed, startling Mao, "There's no need to angsty about it. I should tell your mother that you stole something from your own sister, but since you're so desperate to get it back, I'll let it slid, just this once. Got it?" He shook a leathery, bony finger at her.

Mao bowed from the waist. "Thank you, Mr. Soji."

Soji got up from his folding chair and went to the other end of the display case. Mao followed him there, and found the medallion resting on a satin necklace stand. Soji had rigged a couple of small light bulbs to shine on the piece like it was part of a museum exhibit. Even in the dim lighting of the pawn shop, the medallion looked like the grandest prize. The light glittered off the beautifully etched scales and the blue eyes seemed to glow in the warm light. Soji unlocked the back of the glass case with the key he kept about his neck. His weathered hands, scarred and worn with age, reached in and delicately took the the medallion from the stand. He put it on the counter and Mao handed him both the receipt and the check. He pocketed the check, but tore the check up and scattered the remains in his trash bin.

"Now hurry home before it gets too dark," he warned her as he returned to his chair, "There's a lot of weirdos out there who like little Japanese girls in school uniforms."

There wasn't room for Mao to put the medallion in her bag and her uniform didn't have pockets. She had no choice but to loop the chain over her head and hide the medallion under her blouse.

"I'm going straight home." She ran for the door.

"Be safe," Soji yelled after her. The phone rang beside him. He answered. "Soji's Antiques and Pawn, how can I help you."

"Yes, I called late last night regarding the acquisition of a particular medallion you have in your establishment."

Soji almost snarled. He hated when those high-fluent business types called and used fancy words. Made him sound pretty ignorant.

"We've got a lot of medallions, sir. You're gonna need to be more specific."

"Yes, well, this medallion is made out of silver in the shape of a dragon with blue sapphire eyes and a silver pearl in its claw."

"Tch, you're a little late, buddy. The owner has changed her mind and came back for it five minutes ago to get it back."

"That's too bad. Thank you very much, sir." The other line clicked and disconnected.

Mao never realized how heavy the medallion was until it rested around her own neck. She was tempted to take out from under her uniform to look at it, but didn't want any to see it and try to take it from her. Even if she hated their father for leaving them, she shouldn't have been so harsh to Yui and take something that he had given her. Mao didn't remember their father all that well, only a few snippets. She remembered how they played in the snow and build families of snowmen together. Then he disappeared, and Yui retreated into her bedroom. Things progressed from bad to worse. Her sister isolated herself from the world, even from her family at times, and hid. She never understood why it had to be that way.

But with the medallion safely around her neck, she promised herself that things were going to change. Starting with a well-deserved apology.

"Hey there little girly." A man with a deep voice that slithered through the sound waves came up from behind her.

Mao jumped back just as his clammy hands barely touched her shoulders.

He was a tall lanky thing, no muscle tone at all. His arms and legs were incredibly long and thin. Black stringy hair hung down his back and in front of his face, partially covering his left eye. Speaking of which, his eyes were yellow in color, split down the middle like a cat or snake's. His skin was a sickly gray color, his flesh stretched over his thin bones. Glancing quickly at his shallow face, Mao thought she saw a pair of fangs protruding from his awful, red gums.

"I have nothing for you. Just leave me alone." She wanted to sound unafraid, but in reality she was scared to death by this man. He looked and sounded like something out of horror movie. He was too tall, too thin, and too sickly-looking to ever be human, and if he was, she hated to see what his parents looked like.

"Oh, but I think you do," he pointed his bony finger at her, his crusty fingernail pointing towards the center of her chest. "You have something. A medallion, yes?" He hissed, dragging out the 's' sound in 'yes.'

"What medallion? I don't know what you're talking about."

The man grinned, baring two little fangs at her. "Don't play stupid with me, little one. There are very few people who own that kind of medallions, and those that do have a certain pedigree, if you will. A medallion like the one on your neck means that you're not exactly from around here, and so I'm going to have to ask you to come with us."

"Us?" Mao didn't have much time to stand around confused. A pair of arms like tree trunks snaked around her mid-section, snaring her.

The arms wouldn't budge. Her fighting was useless.

"There's no point in fighting, little one. You're too weak at this point to fight back."

The arms around Mao's stomach squeezed her so hard that all the air was pushed out of her lungs and black dots danced across her vision. She sagged in the monster's heavy arms, unconscious.

* * *

Yui sipped her tea quietly. Shuichi had just finished telling her the truth. Or should she say, Kurama.

"You're really a fox demon," she sipped her tea, staring at the contents in her cup. She didn't seem to be shocked or surprised. She seemed perfectly okay with the idea that her classmate was in fact a demon.

Kurama gave her an odd look. "And you're fine with this."

Yui's brow arched. "I have blue eyes, white hair, and I can control all things ice and snow. Finding out that my classmate is really the spirit fox from a demonic world separate from the world we are currently living and that you answer to the prince of the underworld, doesn't surprise me all that much. I am supposed to be?"

"I was expecting a bigger reaction."

Yui chuckled but it was a dark and bitter one, like she was laughing at his ignorance.

"Perhaps, but think. Did you honestly suspect that I would have no knowledge of anything supernatural considering my own _supernatural_ abilities? What are the chances?"

Kurama grimaced. It was frightfully painful how smart Yui could be. "Good point," he silently sipped his tea. "But how did you not know about me?"

Yui shrugged her shoulders. "I don't spend a lot of time looking up at people. I might not have noticed you at all if we hadn't run into each that day. Also, my dad didn't have a lot time to teach that stuff. He's been…gone for a while."

"Did he die?"

Yui's face darkened. "No, he just…_vanished._ As you can see, it made a big impact on everybody in the family. Mom moved us down here. Mao and I went our separate ways, and I never learned how to fully control my powers. Which is why that medallion was so important to me. It was the last thing that my father gave me before he disappeared. The medallion and my childhood memories are the only things I have left of him."


	6. Chapter 6

She remained completely stoic and unmoved.

"I just thought..."

Kurama said nothing else on the matter. Yui was the smarter of the Kagami twins. Her aura was giving off deadly spikes of energy. He had never seen her like this.

"Are you going to be alright?" He asked.

She said nothing at first. For several minutes, she stared into her tea cup, her eyes fixed to look past the contents and straight into the bottom of the cup.

"I'll do what I've always done, manage."

He could have sworn he felt a blast of cold air hit him. He looked at Yui from across the kitchen table. Her eyes seemed dead. She was cold, physically and emotionally. She was visibly shaking. With her arms folded her chest, it looked like she was trying to contain something inside of her,

"Conceal, don't feel." She breathed, barely audible.

"Excuse me?" Kurama asked.

Yui suddenly stood up from the table. She set aside her cup and pushed her chair back. "I think it's time for you to leave."

He wanted to protest, but judging by the look on Yui's face, she wasn't going to listen to any of his arguments. He casually glanced out the small kitchen window. The sun had long set. The sky was the color of dark velvet with silver dots of distant city life shining against the night-time background.

"It's late anyway. My mother must be worried sick about me." He looked at his watch. "Shouldn't your sister be home by now?"

Yui, still stoic, reached for the phone. "She's probably with some friends. I'll call to make sure."

As Yui dialed, Kurama put the cups away in the sink. She gave him the stink as she expected him to be heading for the door instead of lingering around, even if he was trying to make himself useful. Finally, someone on the other end picked up.

"Hello?" It was Ruka.

"Ruka, is Mao there?"

"Why would you want to know?" She answered in a snide tone.

"It's getting late and she isn't home. I was hoping..."

"Ha! Like you care about her after the stunt you tried to pull..."

"It was a misunderstanding," Yui raised her voice. "Do you know where my sister is or not?"

"You mean she's not at home?"

Yui fell silent. Kurama saw her face go from irritation to fear. If possible, she may have paled. She quickly turned away from him.

"She's not with you?" Yui started to panic.

"No," Ruka sounded equally concerned. "Didn't she go home after school?"

"No."

"I'll call her cell," and with that the line disconnected.

"Yui," Kurama asked, "is something the matter?"

She placed the phone back on its charger. "She's not with Ruka and I doubt she's with Miyumi."

"Well, then let's go look for her." Kurama offered.

"Haven't you done enough for my family?" Yui felt her blood drop dangerously close to freezing temperatures.

"Let's not argue about this now." He answered sternly. "Let's just go and find your sister."

They bolted out the door not long after Yui put up a front, but she had no choice but to cave in. She certainly wasn't going to go look for Mao on her own, in the dark. She was desperate, not stupid. They ran all the way back to the school and found no traces there. They backtracked to the house before Yui thought of something. She remembered the pawn shop Mao mentioned. Her sister might be there. They crossed the street and walked down it until they were a few feet away from the store. Yui suddenly stopped short in the middle of the sidewalk. Kurama had raced ahead of her before he noticed she was behind him. He quickly turned again to find her stooping down to pick something up. A school bag.

"This is my sister's." Yui declared holding the bag like some lost relic.

"How can you tell?"

She looked inside. "It's got her name tag in here. And her cell phone." Yui pulled the device out. "There's no way she would have left these behind, especially her phone. She doesn't go anywhere without it."

Yui started shaking. Her knees were buckling. Her teeth began to gnaw on her leather gloves.

"No, no, no," she said as she paced up and down the sidewalk. "This isn't happening. This cannot be happening."

Kurama slowly approached her and tried to calm her down.

"We'll find her. She couldn't have gotten too far."

Yui pushed him away. He nearly fell backwards into a fence. His hand went to his chest where her hand had shot out at him to keep him at bay. It was cold to the touch.

"Panicking will not find your sister."

It was a little too late for that. Yui's pacing only became more frantic. She tore off one of her gloves and starting chewing on her fingernails. Her eyes were bulging out of their sockets. The air around her was growing colder and colder.

"Don't tell a woman not to panic, Shuichi! It never works!"

Kurama backed off for a few minutes. He let Yui have her moment to pace and think to herself. Rarely had he seen her display such emotion. She could be serious, stoic, and sometimes happy, but happy moments were short and fleeting. He barely had seen her smile, and when she did it was a small one, more like a grimace. He stood silently, not meaning to stare at her, watching her closely, just in case she lost control. He stood there for several minutes until Yui slowed down and stood still herself.

"Where else would she go?"

"I don't know! In case you haven't noticed lately we don't have the best relationship." Her voice carried far down the nearly abandoned street. "We haven't had a decent conversation in seven years that didn't up her yelling at me," Yui lowered her voice to a whisper and she wrapped her arms around herself, still holding onto Mao's school bag.

"We'll find her. I promise. Just let me make a phone call. We're going to need some help."

After twenty minutes, Kurama was able to see Kuwabara and Yusuke heading down the street towards them. Dark was the sky with a handful of stars twinkling dimly up above them. Street lamps flickered. Distant cars hummed. Yui was leaning against the fence, clinging to her sister's school bag and biting on her nails.

"What's the emergency?" Asked Yusuke as he and Kuwabara approached.

"We can't find my sister," Yui replied before Kurama had the chance to speak. "We found her school bag and cell phone, but she wouldn't just leave them lying on the side walk. She never came home after school."

"Calm down, chill for a second." Pun not intended.

Yui accidentally threw the bag to the ground.

"Why does everyone keep telling me to calm down!" She threw her arms out wildly. "My sister is out there with who knows what kind of creep, having who knows done to her. She's probably scared out of her mind and...and..." Yui slumped to the ground, back against the wooden fence, and her face buried in her knees.

"Sorry." Yusuke felt legitimately sorry. Looking at Yui so terrified for her sister, it kind of made him feel worse.

"Where was the last place you saw her?"

Yui didn't say anything, Kurama answered for her.

"At school. They got into an argument, but Mao never came home. Her friends claim she went straight home."

"What was the argument about?"

"She stole the medallion my father gave me because she thought I was trying to steal Shuichi away from her."

"All that over a necklace?" Yusuke was incredulous.

Yui rose up at once. "It wasn't any necklace. It was a medallion my father gave to me just before he disappeared seven years ago! It was the only I had to remember him by." Floral leaves of ice sprouted around her feet.

"Alright, alright," Yusuke said calmly. "My bad. I didn't know."

"We only have three days to find her." Yui stated, her mood cooling down, the ice at her feet slowly melting.

"Three days?" The three boys said all at once.

"My mom is on a business trip. She'll be home before Sunday. If Mao isn't there when she comes back, I'd rather not think about the consequences."

They all thought for a moment. Yuki Kagami was a force to be reckoned with. She may have been a simple businesswoman, but behind that suit was a tiger, a rather nasty one with claws and fangs, especially when it came to protecting her cubs. Kurama knew that for a fact. He had nearly had his head bitten off by the said tiger.

"Then we don't have much time to lose then?" Said Kuwabara, surprisingly, with a cool, confident look.

"We'll need to get information first, and I know just the place to get it." Yusuke added.

"From where?" Asked Yui.

"You'll see," Yusuke turned about face.

They seemed to walk for miles. The sky was getting darker. Streetlamps hummed. Yui was growing more impatient. She didn't know where Yusuke was taking them, but she didn't like where he was going. They entered the bad side of town. The smell alone made her cringe. In an absent state of mind, she started to lean towards Kurama. They bumped shoulders, at which point she mumbled a half-whispered apology.

Before she knew it, they were entering a seedy bar that could be smelled with the nose before you could see it with your eyes. It stank of moldy wood, booze, and garbage. Yui did her best to cover her nose and mouth with her hand, but it wouldn't suffice. She could smell the noxious place a mile away. However, the only thing worse than the smell was the strange, dark aura the decrepit edifice gave off like a foreboding flag. Tingles ran up her spine and goosebumps ran down her arms and legs. Walking closer, and closer still, just made her want to run away.

"Yusuke?" Asked Kurama. "What is this place?"

"A little hole in the wall. I heard it's a place to get information of the supernatural persuasion." He answered.

Yui was not all that surprised how confident Yusuke was as he opened the door and walked right on in as if he had done this before. She didn't want to, but if they could find any kind of information on her sister's whereabouts, Yui would climb down to the deepest pit in hell if she had to. She took a deep breath, nearly gagging at the smell, breathed out, and stepped forward.

It was not quite what she had expected.

When he said of supernatural persuasion, he meant it. There were demons of varying kinds and shapes. Gnarled hands with razor-sharp claws held onto playing cards and beer tankards. Parchment yellow fangs protruded from pink gums as gruesome lips were wet by forked tongues. Some were lean and tall, others round like basketball, and many in between. Sordid-looking humans were sitting with them, equally unpleasant to look at. With a squeak, Yui hid behind Kurama, grabbing his arm.

"W-what is this? What is this place?"

"A den of lechery, vice, and crime, little lady, and we don't take kindly to uninvited guests," the sickly looking bartender from behind the counter said. His beefy hands were in the middle of "cleaning" a glass tankard with an old rag.

The bar was completely silent. The patrons were glaring at the intruders.

"We're here for information, that's it," explained Yusuke.

"And what makes you think anybody's gonna want to open their mouths? Get out." He barked and went straight back to his washing. But then he raised his head, smirking at Yui. "But the little cutie behind the red head can stay."

Nobody heard her say anything or see her move until she began walking to the counter, removing one of her gloves.

"Yui," Kurama called out to her, but he fell to deaf ears. The staring eyes from all of the patrons unnerved him as they watched her move carefully.

She placed the school bag on a near-by stool. Without saying a word, Yui stole a tankard from a seated patron who was about to take a drink from it. He protested but was immediately silenced when she held it precariously around the mouth and icicles began to fall down the glass. The ice formed around and inside the tankard. The ice hissed and cracked as it completely froze the glass and the alcohol within it. Within seconds, the entire thing was solid ice. Her fingers released the tankard and it fell sharply to the floor, shattering like glass.

The bartender and the patron whom she stole the tankard from glared at her, but they were also now afraid of her. There was that particular glint of fear in their eyes, more so in the patron than in the bartender.

"Good, I have your attention." The coldness in her voice was unfamiliar. "I am not in a good mood right now. I don't have time to waste. My sister was taken earlier, and I want to find her right away before something bad happens. Now if any of you has any information, please, feel free to speak up."

A deep chuckle came from the back of the bar. A scrawny-looking devil with the complexion of a mutant toad and the slyness of a lizard tipped his hat. He looked at her with yellow eyes and a smirk streaked across his face.

"Would this sister of yours be wearing a medallion around her neck, perhaps?"

Yui fell silent.

"Rumor has it that a girl was found with a very special medallion on her person. Another rumor has it that there's a group of three demons trying to sell her on the market, but they didn't realize til recently they couldn't much out of her cuz she isn't the one they're lookin' for." His smile was as slimy as his reptilian skin.

"Keep talking." Yui calmly ordered.

Kurama approached her from the side.

"You don't know what you're doing. This could be dangerous." He warned.

Yui turned her eyes briefly toward him, and he shivered and jumped back. Nobody had ever made him do that.

Yui's cold, blue eyes were like looking into a blizzard on the Russian tundra. There was no emotion except anger and fierce determination. She could have out-done Hiei in a stoic face competition.

"I have everything under control." She growled, and continued to make her way towards the demon.

"You were saying?"

The sleaze-ball laughed. "I might have heard that a girl in a school uniform was mistaken for somebody, and they're held up somewhere in hopes that that Koenma might be willing to have prisoner exchange."

"Might have heard?" There was venom in Yui's voice.

He nodded. "Yeah, might have, but you know the memory is a little foggy." He tapped his temple with his finger. "Maybe you could help me with that, sweetheart." He winked.

"You pervy..." Kuwabara almost jumped to Yui's defense.

Her cheeks were flushed red, but then her eyes narrowed. Then she gave him a coy smile.

"Nothing comes for free, am I right?" She said.

"Yui, you can't be serious." Kurama gave one last ditch effort to stop her from doing something disgusting and irresponsible.

"Go out and play in the streets, little man. Your lady friend and I have some stuff we need to talk about upstairs," the devil put his arm around her shoulder.

The boys looked on with disgust, but they clearly didn't know what was going on in her head. Yui suddenly grabbed his arm, threw him against the nearest wall with some unknown strength, and threw an ice-ball towards him. It hit his arm and a cuff of rough, jagged ice formed around his wrist, sealing him to the wall. The demon tried to pull and tug his arm free. It was of no use. He tried to claw his way out, but it worked just as well as pulling.

"You frigid bitch!" He growled.

Yui's eyes narrowed again. The cuff around his wrist crackled and hissed and spread to his forearm. He panicked, growling at the ice encasing his arm and then at Yui who created it in the first place.

"I'll let you in on a little secret. My powers and abilities are controlled by emotion. The more I feel and the stronger the emotion, the more my power is released and right now, I'm in a very foul mood."

"You're insane!" He yelled, but the ice grew to his elbow.

Another demon grabbed his sword and charged for Yui. With a swift kick, she created a wall of spikes, danger spikes that threatened to impale the first fool who dared to try to reach her. The demon spotted the barrier before he became shishkabob. All others watched how narrowly he came close to death and decided to stay out of it.

Without friends, without a way to escape, the demon went from anger to fear on a drop of a dime.

"L-let's try to be reasonable, ma'am. I was only kidding!"

"Oh," Yui said coldly. "So you weren't propositioning me? You weren't trying to lay a perverted hand on me in exchange of information? You were playing around?" A scary laugh erupted from her throat, one that Kurama was not comfortable with. "Just how stupid and naive did you think I am?"

"No, no!" The ice crawled all the way up to his mid-bicep. "I-I didn't think that at all!"

"Start talking, and I'll let you go."

The demon gulped audibly. He looked at his arm. He was losing feeling in his entire arm from his fingertips to bicep. There was no way to stop the ice from covering his arm, and spreading elsewhere to his body.

"That ice will freeze your extremities first, then your head will be last. You'll either freeze to death or suffocate. Both of which I'm certain are not pleasant ways to die, so if you have anything to share now is the time. Unless you've always had the desire to be a permanent display on the wall?"

"Alright, alright, I'll talk!" He moved his arms and legs wildly as if that would defrost his arm. "I overheard these three guys who heard somebody else sayin' that a certain kind of demon sold a certain kind of medallion at a pawn shop. They were talkin' about capturing him and sell him to the highest bidder. But it turned out the the medallion belonged to a girl, but the then the girl turned out to be the wrong one. Judging by the look of things, they certainly did." He laughed nervously.

The ice was up to his shoulder now.

"They said something about an abandoned temple outside the city. A shrine in the woods with inari statues out front. They're held up there! That's all I heard! I swear!"

The ice around his arm cracked and landed in thousands of pieces on the floor.

"Now, was that so difficult?" Yui asked.

She brushed past her company, grabbed the school bag, made her exit, and rushed over to the nearest alley. When they found her again, she was hanging over a trash can, blowing chunks.

Kurama alone went up to her.

"Are you going to be alright?"

He waited until she stopped vomiting. She lifted up her head, wiped her mouth, and spat. For the most part, she returned to normal. She wasn't as cold as before; her cheeks were still flushed with bright red.

"I-I think so."

Kurama took the liberty of touching her shoulder. Yui didn't protest, so he gently gave it a squeeze.

"What was that about?"

Yui didn't answer right away. For a while, she was lost in her thoughts. It took a long time before she could answer him, and even then she could barely keep eye contact with him. She gave him a quick glance and pulled her shoulder away from his hand.

"Everybody has a dark side. You've just met mine. It just so happens to come out when I'm protecting my own."

* * *

Yui stood by herself in the shadows of a dark alley. She had her back against the stiff brick wall, the rough texture would have been giving her dull aches in her shoulder if she was paying attention to it. On the inside as well as the outside, she felt nothing but this cold numbness. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her, Mao's school bag at her feet. The blood in her veins was still freezing. The leather gloves replaced on her hands were suddenly itching and she felt like she was suffocating.

They saw it. They saw her ugly side. She didn't know them, and yet here she was moping about they saw her dark side. She didn't like feeling this way: lost, scared, worried, exposed. They said nothing of the events in the bar, but she could see it in their eyes that they were scared of her now. Yui could deal with people disliking her for her eccentricities, her intelligence, or even how she looked. But she couldn't stand it when were afraid of her. A sharp pain started in her chest when she looked at them briefly and saw their fear. A small ring of ice lay at her feet.

"Yui," it was Kurama.

She didn't bother to turn towards him.

"It's too late to look for your sister now. We're going out as soon as possible in the morning."

Yui pushed herself away from the wall and bent down to pick up the school bag. She seemed to cling to it like a lost child to her doll, it was a sentimental object that brought strength. Mao was going to come home soon, Yui would make sure of that. Yui looked at Kurama with an empty stare, and said nothing.

"I'll walk you home."

"I'm fine. Thank you."

"I insist. They may track you down and won't bother with your sister. You'd be putting yourself in danger and your sister in worse conditions if you go home alone tonight."

She had never believed that Shuichi Minamino could be so persistent. Ambitious, maybe. Hard working, definitely. Border line stalker, didn't quite see that coming.

Yui sighed, rubbing her temples. "Do whatever you want."

Kurama turned briefly to his friends, "I'll take her home. We'll meet tomorrow morning at the bus station."

His friends seemed less enthusiastic about parting ways, but still managed to say their short good-byes and waved before heading down opposite streets. Then it was just Yui and Kurama. It couldn't have been a longer, quieter walk home. Still, even though she didn't feel like having any contact with anyone, especially him of all people, the dark, unfamiliar streets made her shift closer to him than she was consciously aware of. If he noticed, he never said anything about it like a true gentleman. He remained, as always, unassuming, reclusive, quiet, and minded his own business. Perhaps that was what Yui was drawn to in the first place, she still loathed him for telling his friends her secret without permission, although if she had known what they did as a hobby, going to bars where the patrons were demons, she might not have been as reluctant to admit to them about her special powers over ice and snow. But that didn't happen. He told them without permission and that was not okay in her book. And yet, she couldn't help but recall their similarities in her head. Even though he was popular with the girls in school and admired by some of his male classmates and admired by teachers, his popularity was of little consequence to him. Popularity and reclusive behavior did not go hand in hand, making him an idol and an oddity. What she didn't understand was how he could be both, and she was looked down upon for being the same way. It was unfair, but when had she ever cared what others said? So they said things behind her back, and gossiped, and called her names, and pointed out her odd behaviors, and where was she going with this? She lied to herself whenever she said that they and their hurtful words didn't bother her. They did. The words stung. Every insult thrown her way was like an icy thorn in her chest. Sometimes she wanted to scream and just throw a snowball at the detractors and bullies, but never had the courage. Was forcing her emotions into a tight fitting bottle the best idea? In retrospect, probably not, especially considering that she hated to see people being afraid of her when she did let her raw emotions go and get ahead of herself.

"Are you alright?" Kurama seemed to be asking that a lot lately.

"Just thinking to myself."

He started to reach for her hand, but quickly pulled away.

"We're going to bring your sister home. I promise."

"I know."

"Are you capable of having a conversation with more than four words?"

Yui's lips drew a faint line.

"I am sorry."

Yui rubbed her eyes. Had she ever stayed this late, Kurama wondered. It was almost midnight and judging by the tired look in her eyes and how hard she struggled to keep them open, she had never been up this late in the morning. A night owl she was not. He watched her carefully as she half-walked, half shuffled like the living dead towards her house.

The drive way was empty. The porch light was off. All the lights in the house were off. He looked around. There was no sign of disturbance as far as he could tell. It was quiet and lonely, just as the house must have seemed to Yui. They climbed up the stairs. Yui fished her keys out of her pocket with ease but had trouble finding the lock in the dark. She struggled and squinted to find the lock in the distant lamplight which was barely of use to her at the moment. After several minutes of complaining, grumbling, and muttering under her breath, the key slipped inside the lock, allowing her to turn it, and push the front door open. Her hands found the light switch and the living which had never before seemed more empty opened up before her. Her shoes were kicked aside; she hadn't even bother to untie the laces. The schoolbag met with a similar fate and sat near the door to await for its proper owner to return. Kurama was reluctant to step inside, but he did anyway.

"Will you be alright?"

"How many times are you going to ask me that?" Yui snapped. They stood in the living which was still dark. The house was empty. Her mother wasn't in the master bedroom snoring, though she would deny it. Mao wasn't staying up late whispering into her phone. They had no pets, and so the house was quiet.

"I don't feel comfortable with you staying here by yourself in your present condition." He answered while not really answering the question at all.

Yui sat herself down on the couch, hugging herself again. "I'm used to being alone. I've locked myself in my room so many times, it's a wonder why I haven't dropped out of school and join a cloister."

"Has your mother taught you to seclude yourself like that? To hide your powers?"

Immediately, Yui rose from the couch, her hands curled into fists at her sides.

"My mother taught me nothing of the sort. I did it all of my own free will. In fact, she's tried time and time again to tell me that I'm okay, that I'm just different and that I shouldn't be afraid of what I can do. But what would she know?" She sloped back into the couch, her anger suddenly gone. Her hands shook as the rubbed her arms. "I was perfectly happy being invisible."

"You're not in the mood for my company, I understand, but I'd rather not leave you here by yourself. Not like this."

Neither one of them was sure what he meant by like this. He could have been referring to her weakness from outside forces or the emotional shipwreck inside.

"What about your mother?" Yui had some venom still on her tongue which she quickly used on him.

"I can call her."

"I'm sure you have a tendency to call your mother and make up excuses why you're late or skipping school, am I right?"

Kurama sighed, annoyed. "Is there an issue you have with me? I have done nothing but try to help you, and you're trying acting like I'm the villain."

Yui stood up again and crossed the room, her arms still folded across her chest.

"I was perfectly fine being invisible, but then you show up and ruin all of it. All I wanted was to graduate, go to college, and continue my life as a recluse. I didn't want you to ask questions or talk to your friends about me or hang out with me or make my sister jealous! I didn't ask for any of that stuff, but you...you...you.." Tears turned icicles down her cheeks. "Why couldn't you just leave me alone?"

He swallowed the lump in his throat. He grabbed the back of her head and pushed her against his chest. Her cries and mumbles were deafened. Yui's hands were freezing even though she was still wearing her leather gloves. He didn't mind it. She tried to pull away, but for some reason or another, he held her tightly to him. The icicles down her cheeks stuck to the fabric of his shirt, making escape more difficult. True it was just ice, but that didn't mean that when she try to get away, pulling at the icicles didn't hurt her cheeks.

They didn't say anything, not until she was finished with her tears and they melting, leaving great splotches and streaks running down the front of his shirt. Yui wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Red rings encircled her blue eyes.

She finally got away from him and started walking down the hallway.

"Do what you want? Stay if you really care. Blankets are in the hall closest over here. Help yourself to the fridge. It's not like I'm hungry right now anyway." And slammed her bedroom door.

Yui didn't even bother changing out of her clothes. She plopped down on her bed, face first, before rolling over to her side. She waited to hear the front door open and close, but she must have been so tired that she fell asleep.

_It was cold, so very cold. It was freezing, and Yui knew a thing or two about freezing temperatures. A white torrent swirled around her, nipping and cutting at her face. There was nothing before her, nothing behind her, nothing but the clouds of a white storm on all sides. Wide kimono sleeves were whipped to and fro as she trudged through the snow._

_She raised her hands to stop the storm on her own, but it was no use. It couldn't be stopped, not with her weak powers. The ice and the wind were too powerful._

_Suddenly, a figure standing stock-still appeared as a black figure in the white-out world. Yui's ears picked up her sister's voice._

_"Yui?"_

_Yui moved faster through the snow, but the snow was up to her knees now. She carried on, her eyes glued to the figure standing out in the middle of the storm._

_"Mao!"_

_But her sister did not reply._

_Yui climbed through the snow, fast approaching the figure she assumed was her sister. The howling wind whipped past her ears and nearly deafened her. The snow in her eyes nearly blinded her, but there was one sign of hope, a glimmer nearly shining in the distance. The figure was becoming clearer now. Yui ran towards it. She jumped into its arms._

_"Mao, are you alright?" She yelled over the wind._

_Her sister did not reply._

_Mao was cold to the touch and unmoving. The wind stood still as the realization slowly took a hold on Yui. She stood back in horror at what once had been her sister. Mao's eyes stared up into the void, her lips struck dumb. Frozen._

_Mao's body was made of solid ice, frozen in time. With shaking hands, Yui cupped her sister's face. Dumb, deaf, blind, and ultimately dead. Yui's face was reflected in Mao's dead eyes._

_Her own eyes were drawn to the cut in the side of Mao's neck. A silver crack in the icy fleshy before it_ _oozed red like blood. She touched the cracked, hoping against hope to stop the bleeding. Her fingers were quickly painted red. The smell of copper filled her nostrils and congested her senses. A sickening sound and the crack became bigger and bigger and ran through the whole of Mao's body. Yui was cut on her arms, legs, and face when the body shattered into a thousand pieces in a burst of red shower. The white world was painted red._

Yui was confronted with the piercing white light of daybreak peeking through her window. Her forehead was drenched with sweat and tears. She shot up in the bed, ending the nightmare quickly. Her fingers, shaking in real life as they did in her dream, ran through her hair. However, instead of black hair, her hands met with those accursed white locks. In fact, she spotted her wig sitting on the back of her desk chair and the wig cap was on her desk, next to a sheet of paper and a pen she was certain wasn't there the night before.

She crawled out of bed and went to her desk. Kurama left her a note. He had already left, but assured her that they would return soon with Mao.

Normally, Yui would not let emotions get in the way. She was logical and her powers were force their way to the surface when she felt things such as emotions. Normally, she would have been too shy or too timid. She was not fighter. Normally, Yui would sit back and let others fight the good fight and normally, she would let her nightmares make her stay home.

But these were under normal conditions. How often did she have to protect her sister? Almost never. How often did Yui feel such force of emotion boiling over inside of her, nearly breaking the icy fortress she built inside? The Bastille was about to be invaded and torn asunder, only this time from the inside out.

In a fit of rage unfamiliar to her, Yui crumbled up the note in her hand and tossed it in the trash. She threw on some new clothes, grabbed one of Mao's hats, a newsboy cap, and tucked her white hair underneath it. She back a small drawstring bag with her wallet, a first aid kit, some water, and a sharp pair of scissors. She didn't know what to bring with her, but she hoped that she wouldn't have to use either her powers or the scissors in a deadly result. The bag was slung over her shoulder and marched her way to the bus stop. There was only one abandoned shrine with inari in front. It was rumored to be haunted, and a great make-out point. Yui couldn't very verify either one because she had never seen a ghost or dated a guy. She shoved her hands into her gloves and walked out the door.

* * *

Warm light hit Mao's cold face. It felt nice. It was just a tiny bit of comfort she needed in her current situation. Her wrists and ankles were bound tight with coarse rope. The knots were impossible to break. She would have to find a sharp object to cut her bindings. That is, if she had the freedom to move.

Only one of the three-man crew was on guard. He didn't need sleep. No matter how hard she tried sleep didn't come easily when she had that thing staring at her all night. What she going to do anyway with her hands and feet tied up? She could barely move, let alone run away. The rope was so rough and the knots so tight they burned and cut her skin. She turned over to her other side.

Even a little wriggle made the demon reach for the sword leaning against him.

"I was turning over. My side hurt." Mao snapped.

His hand left the sword and returned to the confines of his kimono sleeve.

"Is your sister like this? If so, we might have a problem. Two trouble makers might not be worth this venture of ours." He grumbled.

Mao said nothing. Yui may have been the smarter of the two of them, but even Mao knew when to shut up. They had already given her a busted lip over a sarcastic comment. It was a lesson she learned quickly.

The floor boards creaked and footsteps marched towards the inner sanctuary of the temple. The big brute who squeezed her until she was unconscious was called Atsuo, not very appropriate. The meaning of his name, "friendly man," suited neither his personality nor his physical make-up. A bald, tall, gray-looking brute with a short-ranged list of facial expressions and the body language of a rock. His black eyes were portals into nothingness and void of human emotion. He was also articulate. Despite his beefy, strong-man exterior he considered himself the second most intelligent member in their little gang, second only to the ring leader known as Daisuke, the snake demon with sickly green-gray skin and oily hair. And the third member, the agitated, the aggressive, impulsive, and over all hot head in the group was a lean demon with pallid complexion, nearly white as the full moon on a cold, winter night, black hair and black horns like an antelope's sticking out of his head. This one they called Jiro.

"Thank you so much for gracing us with your presence, Oh Glorious Ones. I cannot humble myself low enough," Jiro gave his crew members a mock bow.

"Jiro, you're testing my patience." Daisuke hissed, his forked tongue slithered between his lips.

Jiro sneered at him and leaned into the moldy wall behind him.

The temple had fallen into disused for more than a century. It had once been dedicated to the god of the forest who, according to legend, resided there. But, it seemed he vacated his temple and went up to the Heavens or perhaps found a new shrine to inhabit. Either way, the place had been long deserted and almost forgotten. Young people seemed fond of the surrounding area for its covert hiding places for make-out sessions and other things of that nature. Mao wouldn't know. She may have been a lot of things, but she drew the line there. She'd never let a boy take her some place like this, especially after this incident.

The temple had seen better days. The floors creaked, the ceiling moaned, and at any second Mao feared that the whole thing would collapse on her. The shoji doors leading outside were covered in wholes and the panels that were not damaged by weather and time were coated in a thick layer of dust. Walls scrolls limply hung by rusted nails. The paper was torn and one had the bottom half completely torn off. The altar was nothing more than a low-lying table fallen over on its side. Its broken leg lay not so far away.

"Did you have to chase away another pair of human lovers in the middle of coitus? Or has Koenma come to his senses and decided to hand over the girl?"

"Neither." Atsuo answered. "We have company."

"I sent out a little spy for us, and lo and behold, the prince of the Spirit World sent his crack-job team of traitors, a worthless human, and his detective. The girl is not with them." Daisuke went on to say.

"Does he expect to retrieve this one," Jiro used his sheathed sword to point at Mao, "with nothing more than that spirit detective? He must be out of his mind."

Daisuke hissed, venom dripping from his fangs. His yellow eyes narrowed.

"He has with him Youko Kurama and Hiei. Neither one of which you are near their rank. Despite being such loathsome traitors, it is not wise to dismiss them. They are still quite capable opponents, so I wouldn't waste your youthful pride on thinking you can beat them so easily.

Jiro rose up, and grabbing his sword, unsheathed it. The blade was deep red in color like coral and strong as normal steel.

"Then why don't we just get rid of the evidence and find the demon we're looking for. They'll be so preoccupied in recovering the body of a mere human, we can get a head start in finding her."

"Put that thing away, you simpleton." Daisuke looked downward at Mao. "We still have use for her. If we kill her, we won't have Koenma and the spirit detective to deal with any more. We'll have this one's sister, and by the looks of things, they're close. The medallion isn't passed around like some hand-me down toy. It has a very significant meaning. The girl wouldn't have passed it on to her sister if they weren't close."

Jiro gave him a disgruntled chuckle. "Is that why you guessed that she was wearing it? If she hadn't reacted the way she did, maybe you wouldn't have know. And maybe you would have grabbed the right girl."

"Jiro," Atsuo warned.

Sneering, Jiro sheathed the sword back into its place and returned to his lounging.

"Though I still have one question for you, girl," Daisuke's gaze never left Mao. She stared up at him, feeling nauseous just by looking into his eyes. She wouldn't have told him a thing if it weren't for those deadly-looking fangs of his. He said he wouldn't kill her, but he could be bluffing. "How is that you're completely human, but your sister isn't?"

"Huh?" This wasn't the first time he had asked her that. The night before he asked her the say thing. That was when she had the brilliant idea of insulting him. He slapped her so hard, he split open her lips, or it might have been cut on the splinter-prone floor boards. In either case, it stung.

Atsuo touched Daisuke on the shoulder. He had been studying Mao's reaction.

"I don't think she knows."

Daisuke turned to his partner. "She doesn't know?" He repeated, looking confused.

"She smells human alright, but the medallion didn't have her scent. The smell of it comes from two sources, one male, one female. Both of which are true demons. I suspect the father passed the medallion onto his daughter, the one who took after him."

"But do they share the same father?" Daisuke asked, now thoroughly intrigued.

Atsuo nodded his head. "Her smell wasn't on the medallion, but her scent is akin to the ones on the item in question. Most likely related."

"And it isn't possible that the girl we're looking pulled the same stunt as Youko did, and end up in the womb of a human woman?"

Atsuo shook his rough head, "Unlikely. She would have had to go to the Demon World to fetch the medallion from her father, who might not have been able to recognize her, or she would have been killed for trespassing, even if she was a demon bound in human flesh."

"So the father of the two girls was a demon, and the mother human, but that still doesn't explain why the children of such a horrendous coupling could be two different species."

"W-what are you saying?" Mao had scared herself by talking.

Daisuke, who had been ignoring her until she spoke up, stooped down and grabbed her chin. She didn't try to run or else face another slap, or worse. He stared into her tearful eyes. Her cheeks were caked in dirt. His clawed hand carefully smudged the dirt around her face. His lips, greasy and chapped, gave her a good look at his fangs as he smiled.

"You don't know, do you, girlie?" He chuckled. "You lived for fifteen years, and you never knew that your father was a demon?"

* * *

She paid for her own fare and walked to the very back of the bus. The afternoon sun beat through the windows. Yui had not realized how late she had been sleeping until she walked out of the house. And she had a reason to be grateful. If she had stepped on board the bus when school was in session, she would have been caught for sure. While she sat down there, contemplating and formulating up plans, she kind of wished she brought a book to read. She shouldn't be distracted, but the ride to the back

woods of the city was a long one. And she had never been idle before.

The stress, anxiety, fear, and inactivity were slowly boiling up inside of her like a volcano. If she didn't get of that bus soon, the passengers would be in a world of hurt. Her hands were shaking from holding everything deep inside. Not an icicle formed or a frosty tear rolled down her cheek. She focused, the same has she did last night. That was the only way for her to stay in relative control. Stay calm, stay focused, conceal and don't feel.

The passengers sometimes glanced at her. They whispered. They wondered why she was sitting by herself, all huddled up in a corner. It took one sharp glance for them to look the other way or find something to distract themselves with like a conversation with a friend or a new text message on their cell phone.

It was also here and now that Yui began to wonder if she was anti-social because of her powers or by choice. Looking around, she could see many reasons why dislike other people. They were rude, nasty, and some down right perverted. She watched a forty-year-old businessman leer at an unsuspecting teenage girl and Yui couldn't help but gag a little which left a sour taste in her mouth. There were girls around her age that acted so vain and petty. They cared more about their looks and clothes and boys than school work and trying to make their community, their country, or the world a better place. Teenaged boys were worse than they were. They often went on and on about silly prattle. Yui wanted to throw snowballs at them. But, no matter how much she wanted to, it would have been wrong on two levels: one, she couldn't reveal her powers to anyone (although that rule had already been broken) and two, it wouldn't be right to hit complete strangers simply because she didn't enjoy the conversation they were having, in which she had no place in to begin with.

In the end, Yui rested her head against the glass window in hopes of catching some sleep. The bus stopped frequently. By the time it was half way to her destination, only an old woman, the bus driver, and Yui remained in the vehicle.

The bus driver was a normal man doing his job. The old woman, however, she seemed different. This was the only time Yui had ever noticed it before. It was true what she told Kurama, she never spent much time looking up and never bothered to use some of her non-ice related powers because she never learned to use them. Without even trying, Yui felt something. It was a surge of energy. It was subtle but dark. It came off in ebbing waves like the ocean along the shore. It was fluctuating and it was coming from the old woman.

She looked like your typical old Japanese woman. White hair tied in a bun, wearing a mauve kimono and traditional sandals on her feet, she appeared as the perfect picture of innocence. There was nothing sinister about her, save the dark aura only Yui could see.

The sun was starting to set behind the city's skyscrapers. It would be another hour before nightfall. Yui rummaged through her bag and checked to see if she remembered to bring a flashlight. She found it sitting in the very bottom of the bag. It was a small one, but it would have to do.

The sunset left the blue sky and painted it over with hues of orange, yellow, and deep purples. Yui looked out the window to see the landmarks. The signs were all pointing in the right direction. A few minutest later she spotted her stop just over the small hill they were climbing. She sat up, reached up, and tugged on the cord. The bus beeped and the sign above the driver's head which read 'Stop Requested' blinked. But the bus driver made no indication of stopping. Yui rose to her feet and tugged on the cord harder. The alert beeped again and again with each time she pulled. The driver either ignored her request or didn't hear it.

Yui carefully walked down the line of the bus and tapped the driver on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, this is my stop. I need to get off here." She looked out the window and saw the bus stop zoom past them. Yui tapped him on the shoulder again and spoke more loudly and clearly than the first time. "You just past my stop. Can you let me off, please."

"Change of directions. We don't stop there any more." His voice was different from when he greeted her earlier that afternoon.

Yui looked into one of the rear-view mirrors.

"If you try escaping, it'll only cause you more pain." The horrid voice came from the old woman, who now stood next to Yui.

The old woman wrapped her clawed hand around her arm in a vice grip. Her eyes didn't belong to any sweet grandmother Yui personally knew. No, this old woman had the eyes of a demon, and quite literally too. They were the color of violet, swirling around big black orbs. So stormy and bright, they couldn't be human. The old woman pulled on Yui's arm harder, causing her wince and hiss as the sharp nails dug through her shirt and into her flesh.

"Why don't you come sit next to me, _little one._"

* * *

Author's note: I've decided to take the story along a different path. It won't stray very far what I had originally intended but sense I've recently gotten back into the habit of writing fanfiction again, that is on a more regular basis, I would like to believe that the changes will be for the better and you will enjoy them. Not only will Frozen be updated to at least chapter eight (hopefully), but expect my other fictions to receive one or more chapters by the end of this year. I hope you had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year!


	7. Chapter 7

"This will all end quickly if you just tell me the name of your father."

Yui remained silent, bleeding but still very conscious.

"Honestly, girl. Do you want to be killed? Why are you being so stubborn?"

Yui, bound by chains, could only wordlessly scream as the iron chain struck her back again. Her father had warned her to stay away from iron. Recently, she found out why. Beads of sweat trickled down her face and neck. Blood was coating her knees where she was forced to kneel. Her arms were outstretched over her head with thick iron chains. Her wrists were chaffing from her leather gloves being pulled too tight. The leather protected her wrists from the strong burning sensation she felt on her back but for how much longer? Her captors might have in mind to increase her pain by taking away the only thing protecting her vulnerable skin from the affects of the metal.

The imp of an old woman, not so charming and seemingly innocent now, sat on a rock to observe the torture. Pointed ears poked out of frayed white hair. She tapped her claws impatiently on the knot of her wooden cane. Her form had shrunk since they entered the secret cave but the kimono she wore still fit just fine.

"Well, Mother, I'm afraid this one is bit more stubborn than the others. We could just lie about her pedigree."

The old woman scowled. "Takashi, what profession do we call ourselves by?"

"Hunters," he replied stupidly.

"Yes, and what depends the price of our prey?"

"Their health, intelligence, strength, and beauty."

"Very good, my boy. But you're forgetting one aspect." She stood, approached the much taller figure behind Yui, and smacked him hard with her cane. "Pedigree, you stupid boy! Pedigree! Do you think we'll get money by selling a common dragon! Nobody wants a commoner. A noble dragon is what we need. If not for your stupid father and his gambling habits, we wouldn't have to scrape by. This girl is our last chance at survival."

The old imp returned to her stone to sit, brood, and ask Yui more questions.

"Are you in a lot of pain, girl?"

Yui raised her head, glaring. "Yes."

"Then why don't you tell us your father's name? Iron, if I'm not mistaken, is the only weakness against your kind, dragons born amongst ice and snow. You're in a great deal of pain, I can tell. I don't want to physically harm you as much as you think. You must think that I enjoy causing pain, don't you?"

Yui did not reply.

"Like I said before, my husband left us a tremendous debt thanks to his gambling habits. If you ever marry, avoid that kind of man. If it were up to me, I wouldn't take up the family business again and hunt for dragons. There's so few out there, but the market demands more and there's a pretty penny for someone like you. You could save us. Poverty and destitution come at a heavier price than in the human world. Back home, you're under the threat of being killed every hour of the day and night. You're never safe."

"I'm sorry for your state of affairs but I cannot give you my father's name." Yui wanted to hate them. Part of her did, but it wasn't quite in her nature to truly hate a person. She pitied them even if they intended to sell her into slavery.

"Then perhaps a bargain can be made. You don't have to remain at a master's house. Let's say you escape, and we _happen_ to catch you again. I'll even cut a slice of the profits with you." The old hag offered.

"Mother," her son whined, shocked she would even make a deal like that. More importantly, it would cut into his share of the money. As large as his father's debt was, Takashi inherited his father's love of wine, parties, and women.

"Hush, boy!" She turned to Yui, this time with a smile on her face as honest as a crocodile's tears. "What do you say? Have you ever thought of a career as a con-artist?"

Yui's blue eyes narrowed into slits. She didn't need to time to think over such a horrible idea. "No."

The old woman rose again and approached Yui this time. Her clawed fingers scratched into her cheeks. The little fingers dug into the skin. Droplets of blood trickled to the ground and Yui tore her eyes away as to not look at her own blood.

"Tell me his name!" The old woman growled.

"No." Yui answered. Her arms were sore. The bones in her shoulders and the muscles in her upper back were trying to tell her the opposite. The skin on her knees was practically defaced away. Her blood was seeping into the dirt; she couldn't tell how long she had been kneeling there. Hours, maybe? It felt like years. But no matter how much she was in pain, she was bidding her time. Just long enough for Kurama to rescue her sister. She would be out of danger soon, then they could come for her. That is if she wasn't sold by then.

The old woman's claws gouged out the skin in her cheek when she gave Yui a harsh slap. The blood was so warm against her cold skin it sent goosebumps up her arms.

"Takashi, show her what it means to deny a simple answer to a simple question."

Yui shook with terrified anticipation. She twisted her head and saw Takashi coming up behind her. The scant remains of her shirt were torn away completely, leaving her back totally exposed. Briefly, the cave's cold air nipped at the burning wounds in her back where the iron chains had been. Takashi wrapped one end of the chain around one hand and then the other. A good length of chain swayed between his hands. His mother sat down on the stone once more.

Takashi seemed all too happy to continue. Yui felt his tall, disgusting presence right on top of her back, his sickly gray flesh was practically on top of hers. He looped his arms around her head and the chain was so close to her throat, it gave off heat before it even touched her. Yui winced and bit her lip but the old woman stopped him before it was too late.

"Not the neck. Avoid the face, throat, and the front as best as you can. We don't want her to look too _broken _when we take her to market."

Yui was getting really sick of being talked about like she was a cow.

"Yes, Mother." He was too eager, however he removed his hands and the chain quickly from her front.

Yui waited tortured seconds before the burning sensation roared back into life. Takashi was pressing the chains into her back, hard. She didn't know which was worse, the burning pain or the stinging cold air on her wounds. Ice was in her veins, but what the cold air did to her wounds was similar to pouring lemon juice on a paper cut. It burned more than it stung, like needles being stabbed into open cuts. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction of hearing her scream. At least, for a while. Yui tried to pull away, only to have Takashi push the cursed iron chains further into her back. It felt like her skin was being burned and pealed away. He did it with a chuckle. Bile rose in her throat when she heard him laugh. He_ liked_ doing this to her. He _enjoyed_ causing her pain. His mother may have been different, but her son was a different matter.

The heat, the cold air, the pain. It proved to be too strong for her. Rough, choked gasps escaped from her, like she was hacking up a hair-ball, or her own words. Her teeth ground together as she tried to keep as much of it inside her for a little while longer. She tried to imagine things that made her happy. Cute things, a gentle winter breeze, her books, her family. Anything. She even tried to picture Kurama in her head, back before he told his friends her little secret. To be fair, she hadn't given him a chance. When this was over, Yui resolved to apologize, and maybe give him a second chance.

Takashi pulled the chain taut against a wound he made earlier.

Yui couldn't stop the sound coming from her throat this time. He did so quickly that the images in her head faded. All she could feel now was that deep, burning pain. Heat was coursing through her, replacing every bit of her natural cold blood with heated poison. The heat was like nothing she felt before. The tears running down her cheeks were salty and warm. She had never tasted her own tears before. She thought that they always froze when she cried.

* * *

The day was growing shorter. Night was coming closer. The woods were ominous, dark, supernatural energy was shifting every which way. There was no escaping it. It was everywhere, pressing down on the heroes like heavy weights. They crept quietly. There was lamp light guiding them. A run-down shrine, broken inari statues guarding it's entrance, stood there in the middle of a long-forgotten clearing with its eerie lamps making faces at them.

"So...do we just barge in and save the princess and be on our merry way? Or, does somebody else have a plan?" Yusuke honestly didn't like the looks of things. There was nobody around and yet there was such an oppressive air around the shrine. Kuwabara hadn't shut up about it in the last ten minutes.

"The sooner we get done with this, the better." He kept his arms folded across his chest like he was warding off the cold. "I don't like this place at all."

"Yes, we know," said Yusuke, rolling his eyes in the gloom. "You haven't stopped complaining about it."

They walked a little further now, edging slowly. There was still no sign of the culprits, not even one. The odds were becoming increasingly not in their favor.

"They're around here. They're just using the area's spiritual energy to mask their scent, but they are here all right," marked Hiei.

"The shrine's grounds are reputed to be haunted. It's not any wonder why Kuwabara's spiritual awareness has spiked." Kurama continued.

They were practically at the shrine's gate when Hiei asked Kurama something rather personal.

"Is there any particular reason why you're going out of your way, and making the rest of us ours, for a simple woman?"

"Now is hardly the time to-"

Something like a living shadow rushed between the group. Yusuke and Kuwabara moved one way and Hiei and Kurama moved the other.

"What the hell was that?" Yusuke looked around them but the thing, whatever it was, fazed into the shadows.

The thing moved again, playing with them. It was fast. Too fast. It was moving so fast that there was no definite shape or color to it. It was a giant blob moving in and out between them, mocking them. Kuwabara was an easy target. Too slow and too dumb and despite his slightly higher awareness of things than the average human, he was struck first.

Something sunk its teeth into his shoulders. When it stopped moving, Kuwabara was on his knees, grabbing at his wound.

"Kuwabara! Are you still breathing?" Yusuke shouted across the grounds.

"Of course I'm still breathing, idiot! It'll take more than a little bite to kill me!" He rose quickly but kept his hand over his shoulder.

There was a disembodied laugh. There was nothing for miles around. The sounds of traffic, people, and the usual hum of technology were long gone. It was easy for the laughter to bounce off the trees. They stopped, looked, and still didn't find anything except gloomy looking woods and a run-down shrine.

"Why don't you show yourself, coward! Fight me like a man!" Kuwabara was growing paler, though he didn't let the others know how light-headed he was starting to feel.

The dark blob appeared and vanished. A lanky demon with gross yellow-green skin, oily black hair, and piercing yellow eyes stood with his arms crossed behind his back. He first turned to Hiei.

"If it isn't my favorite old rival, Hiei of the Jagan Eye. I haven't heard from you in a while, not since you failed in stealing those artifacts from Koenma. Speaking of which," he turned to Kurama next. "The King of Bandits himself. I've admired your work for long time. Pity you've made allies with the wrong people."

"I didn't realize I had a rival," noted Hiei, thinking out loud.

"Or that I was admired," said Kurama.

The demon's face turned colors, from sickly green to slightly orange color. Still pretty ugly, though. He snarled and spat and swore.

"Don't you dare insult me, traitors!" He shouted but then took a deep breath and turned his head to Yusuke.

"And the great Spirit Detective too," he said mockingly. "And his little sidekick."

Kuwabara suddenly collapsed to one knee. Sweat trickled down and he ground his teeth as if holding back a scream.

The demon merely quirked his eyebrow and smirked. "As for your sidekick, I reckon he doesn't have very long." He opened his mouth wide, almost unhinging his jaws. His yellowish fangs dripped in a vicious fluid and shut his mouth again. "My venom is quite toxic, and fatal. I give him about half an hour before he succumbs to the venom."

"You little bastard!" Yusuke charged forward, not thinking. Shocker.

The snake demon slipped out of the way with little effort. He didn't even try to bite Yusuke, not yet at least. He enjoyed playing with his enemies.

When Yusuke landed in the dirt, he quipped, "I see you're a detective in _title only._"

* * *

Takashi and his mother left her alone, for now. Yui remained kneeling on the ground, her arms still spread outwards and over her head. She was gasping for breath. Her throat was both parched and inflamed. Her hair and skin were coated in sweat, blood, and tears. She bit her lip so hard that she left it bloody and bruised by the end of the session. Moving her right arm just slightly when she felt a small tinge, popped something in her shoulder. Yui would have double-backed in pain if she could. Her yelp of pain bounced off the cavern's walls.

She smiled once the pain of a dislocated arm faded bit by bit. Yui honestly felt proud of herself for holding out as long as she did. She gave in to the pain but didn't yet submit. The scary stories her father told her by the fireplace warned her of these people. Hunters, he explained that they were wicked people, even for apparitions who would sell their own mothers if it meant putting coins in their purse. Her pity melted. She no longer felt anything for them. She froze herself again. She couldn't let herself feel anything of the like ever again for their lot. She couldn't go soft. Not now. Not when her freedom was at stake. Any minute now, Kurama would have her sister and they both would soon realize that she was gone. They would find her. They weren't too far. If they search hard enough.

A thought struck her.

Why had it been so easy for the location of her sister to be found? At the time, Yui hadn't thought much of it. She was too angry to use her brain properly. The old woman hadn't taken her far from where the original location would have been. It was on the other side of the mountain, which wasn't really big to begin with. It wouldn't take long for someone to climb through the woods and the little hills to reach the mountain.

Why? Oh why did it take her this long to figure it out?

Yui grabbed the chains and pulled herself up. Her spine nearly gave out and her right arm was useless. The fingers on her left hand curled tightly around the chain. She willed ice from her fingertips and it crackled. The room, surrounded and lit by candles, grew dimmer. The cold air from her aura had the flames sputtering in the wind. When the ice had done its work and the chain succumbed, the candles brightened again.

For a few minutes, she let her left arm dangle for a while. Gaining the ability to put her arm down felt so good she almost could have moaned and let it rest there for a bit longer. Unfortunately, there was work to be done.

"Now for the other one."

* * *

"Oh, like I've never heard that before!" Yusuke sprang to his feet. He aimed his index finger. "Eat Spirit Gun, asshole!"

His energy poured out of his finger like a shot gun blast. This time, the snake demon wasn't quite as fast as he needed to be to escape the energy blast. Part of Yusuke's signature move narrowly hit him in the ribs, tearing off a piece of his clothing. The snake demon huddled on the ground, clutching his stomach, which was now slightly burned.

"You're going to regret that one." He hissed, baring his sharp fangs and running forward towards Yusuke.

He was quick, inhumanly fast. His movements were nothing but a blur. He zig-zagged like a side-winder in the desert. But he wasn't as fast as he used to be. His speed must have been reduced by just a hair of a second. Yusuke could just barely see him move. Still, there wasn't any chance there he could make a second shot with his spirit gun, not when this snake demon was moving so fast. Even slightly slower than usual, it seemed impossible to catch him.

"Die!" The snake was already on top of him, jaws unhinged.

Something warm and wet splashed Yusuke in the face. The demon's eyes rolled into the back of his head before it and everything below the neck fell forward.

Hiei wiped his blade clean before returning it to its sheath.

"Thanks."

Hiei barely acknowledged it. "Be sure to remember that when you die, it will be by my hand."

Yusuke rolled his eyes. Kuwabara moaned. Yusuke looked to find him laying on the ground, pallid and barely breathing. Kurama was already at his tending and examining the bite mark.

"Is it bad?" Yusuke leaned over to get a close look.

The wounds were a pair of holes about the size of an American penny. Trickles of blood, venom, and puss were leaking out of the bite marks. Sweat dripped down Kuwabara's forehead as he struggled to breathe normally.

"The venom is strong, but I think I can find something to make the anti-dote. But there isn't much time. If we can stall the venom from reaching any further, I can collect a sample of our friend's venom to make the antivenin," answered Kurama.

"Okay," Yusuke said, annoyed, "And how do we stall the venom?"

"Well," he suddenly became sheepish, but not quite bashful, "The venom has be sucked out."

Both Hiei and Yusuke made a look of disgust.

"You're kidding me, right? One of us is going to have to put our lips on..._him_ and suck the poison out?" He might have gagged. There were three things that were infinitely wrong with the situation. One, it was Kuwabara, not a hot girl. Two, there was puss, blood, and venom to suck and spit out. And three, it was Kuwabara!

"It's the only way." Kurama reminded him. He turned to Kuwabara, who was fighting back the pain by grinding his teeth. "I can't stop the venom that's already worked through some of his bloodstream, but the venom that has not gotten far can still be extracted."

They looked at each from one to the other. Clearly, there were no volunteers at this point. Kuwabara weakly sat up.

Through gritted teeth he spoke, "Somebody better start sucking out the poison or else there's gonna be dead man!" And he flopped back down into the dirt and grass having spent what little energy he had left. He mumbled something elsewhere but it was lost in translation.

"It appears that I have no choice." Kurama grimaced. He had his face near the wound, paused, and leaned further and started sucking.

"Better you than me," Yusuke said to himself, turning away.

"We still have others to contend with," Hiei motioned towards the old shrine.

Just after he said this, a tall gray figure darkened the doorway. He was tall and big, with tattoos running up and down and all over this body. Silver piercings decorated his ears and nose. He was also shirtless, revealing some very well-maintained abdominal muscles. His pitch-black eyes noticed the deceased body of his comrade.

There wasn't so much as a blink or even the slightest look of remorse crossing his face.

"Daisuke always had a problem. It was his arrogance. He liked to complain about Jiro's pride, but could never see the same vice in himself." He said shaking his head; his tone more of a pitying sigh than a pitiful one.

"And you would be?" Asked Yusuke.

The gray giant chuckled and inclined his head slightly. "Atsuo is the name my mother gave me." He looked at the remaining fighters. "The odds are still in my favor. Two against one. I'll end the matter shortly."

Yusuke sneered as Atsuo made his way closer. Hiei was on his guard, however, gripping the sheath in one hand while his other was occupied around the hilt.

"Your friend isn't the only one who appears to be too confident for his own good," Hiei was more than ready to finish this whole affair quickly. After all, he had more importantly things to do than rescue petty damsels in distress.

* * *

Yui groaned, half with relief and half in pain, when her arm became free. The manacles themselves were still attached to her wrists but those would have to wait for just a little bit longer. She began walking, slowly and holding her right shoulder. If she moved too quickly, the cold air in the cave would make the burning wounds in her back hurt even worse. Every now and then she would stop and listen for any sign of her captors returning. When there was nothing but her own breathing and the occasionally dripping of water, Yui continued.

The cave was as dark as it was cold. The sensation of being cold was something kind of new for her. Never before had to worry about the cold or have goosebumps because of it or even shiver. Shivering was definitely as new sensation too. It was a normal bodily function, though she couldn't recall when was the last time she shivered from the cold.

Her left hand was braced against the wall. Aside from the few torches that they put up, there wasn't much too with. She followed the line of torches, hoping to find the exit. There weren't any lit torches down the opposite path, so she assumed that the way out was by following those that were lit.

She never had problem with her knees before either. Though they did stop bleeding, blood was slopping down her legs and drying. Her pants were dirty and not only was her shirt torn, it was filthy with blood, sweat, and dirt. Her shoes were made out of canvas. Water leaked inside and soaked through her soaks.

The demons seemed to have left for no apparent reason. They made it clear that they would be coming back. Yui guessed that they went out to get food or whatever else they needed.

She paused once to catch her breath. The slope in the cave was increasing. Her legs were strong, sure enough. It wouldn't have been a problem climbing this thing. With her legs sore from her hips to her ankles and her knee caps beaten bloody, the task was easier said than done.

Suddenly, she felt a mighty breeze brushing her cheek. Yui smiled. She knew she was headed in the right direction.

* * *

Atsuo laughed. "Unfortunately, I have reason to be more confident. Jiro is young, but that's not an excuse while Daisuke was simply too arrogant to not see that he was arrogant himself. However, neither of them have a _real_ reason to be so."

"And you do?" Yusuke glanced at Kuwabara. He was still very pale. Kurama was hard at work sucking out the poison, but would it be enough.

"You're about to find out." Atsuo's grin reached from ear to ear.

The air became thick with his energy. Without flinching, Atuso unleashed a blazing purple whirlwind that engulfed his entire frame. Impressive as it may have been, the true horror of the situation came from within the flames. Atsuo's body, with his thick flesh taut against muscles, tattoos, piercing, and incredible height, was nothing compared to what happened to him next. His bones and muscles started shifting, ripping apart, and reshaped itself. You could hear the bones breaking and mending themselves. The sound of flesh re-growing over old was like the sound of a snake slithering out of its old skin. Atsuo hollered and yelled as his transformation took place. The purple flames he surrounded himself with vanished. Yusuke was temporarily blinded because he was dumb enough to watch the whole thing and practically stared into the strange fire. He rubbed his eyes quickly but there were dark spots going off in front of his eyes, dancing, flashing, and blurring his target, which would have been very difficult to miss now.

Atsuo wasn't much taller than before but his shape was hunched over like his new gigantic muscles were too big for him. His K-9 teeth were tusks now, protruding from his upper lip. His eyes bulging and red to match the new horns on his head. His bald skin was covered with thick black fur.

"This..." He started, it was clearly difficult for him to talk with those tusks in the way. "Is my ability. Shape-shifter if you will. I am able to turn into any demon or creature I desire. Even a human if I really wanted to! This is the shape of a wild boar demon I killed and drank its blood. Once I kill you two, I'll be able to use the Jagan Eye for myself!" His uproarious laughter shook the ground he stood on.

* * *

Mao saw Jiro's face turn fifty shades of red. His handle on his sword was getting tighter and tighter. She thought that it would break under his hand. She smiled to herself. Yui wasn't the only one who could be smart.

"Are you just going to let him talk smack about you?" Mao sat on her legs, arms tied behind her.

"Shut it," Jiro ground his teeth.

"I'm only talking about the truth. They were both making fun of you. Now, one's dead and the other one's going to get all the glory. And the money. I don't understand why you need my sister so bad but what I do know is that I wouldn't let my partners in crime talk about me like that." She looked so smug.

Jiro whipped around, teeth sharpened and eyes glowing red. "I'm not going to explain it to you again. _Your sister_ is a valuable pawn. She's a rare demon that's going to fetch a nice price. And that Daisuke's gone, it's less money we have to split up."

Mao chuckled, shaking her head. "Did you hear those things he said? It sounded like he doesn't give a crap about you. It's also easy to see that he doesn't really need you. He's keeping you around for his own reasons, but it's probably not because he values you as a member of team."

"What exactly would you have me do? Go out there and fight him myself?"

"Precisely. It'll be three against one. Even he couldn't defend himself when out-numbered. No matter how powerful he thinks he is."

Mao could see the gears turning in his head. Her flattery and mischievous use of words were clearly working. If she wasn't tied up at the moment, she would give herself a pat on the back for being so clever. Jiro was still thinking. In his hand, he held the medallion that she had stolen from her sister. The sharp teeth and claws belonging to the dragon looked sharp enough to cut the rope.

"And what do you get out of this? You're worth less than I am. You're a hostage."

Mao cursed. She thought she had him for a second. She thought for a few minutes before thinking.

"Probably, but you don't look like the kind of demon who'd eat me," she answered sheepishly.

The corner of Jiro's mouth quirked. He chuckled. "And how do I know that you're not going to try to escape?"

Mao moved the arms futilely and moved out from under her legs. The ropes stretched and strained as she pulled at them. She lay on her side, hoping that Jiro was still pretty dumb to fall for her tricks.

"Does it look like I'm going anywhere?"

Evidently, he was.

"Don't wait up." He said as he placed the medallion on the crooked altar and went out the front door.

"Stupid," Mao chuckled under her breath, unsure if he would still be able to hear her, and started crawling towards the back of the shrine.

She wriggled quickly like a worm. Outside the world was thrown into chaos. The fighting was becoming loud, and destructive by the sound of it. Still, all the more reason why to get the medallion and see if it can cut through her bindings. She wriggled awkwardly. With her hands behind her back, she reached for the medallion until she felt her muscles began to tighten painfully. Her shoulders popped as did her elbows, but she kept trying to reach it. Finally, after moments of straining herself, Mao felt the heavy thing in the palms of her hands. She tested the pointed tips of the dragon's teeth with her thumbs.

Twisting her hand around a little, not an easy task by the way, she put the dragon's head to the rope and started scraping. Nothing seemed to be happening at first. She scraped the teeth harder against the rope. Soon after, she heard some of the coarse threads snapping. With glee, she scraped harder. With more of the threads falling away from her wrists, moving the dragon's teeth against the rope gradually became easier and faster. When the rope was just a few scant, weak pieces, Mao let it go and pulled her hands apart. She rubbed her wrists, especially around the areas where the rope cut into her skin. Quickly to work with the rope around her ankles, Mao found freedom in a matter of fifteen minutes. The next thing she did was look for an exit.

The front door was out of the question for obvious reasons. No need to get herself in the crossfire of a demonic showdown. There were no other doors but the walls were paper-thin, literally. She managed to get to her feet when she saw something strange in the torn rice-paper walls. Mao stepped closer. In the growing twilight, a ghostly white head appeared stark against the forest trees. Her heart started pounding. She was unsure of what to feel. She wanted to scream but didn't want to draw attention to herself. The image came towards her. The closer it became, the more its features became clearer. It was a head of white hair, tangled with leaves but still very unmistakable. The head of hair had a face, one that wasn't unlike Mao's.

"Yui," she breathed carefully pulling away the shambles of the wall so she could reach her sister.

Mao heard screaming and dying cries coming from the front. Yui was running towards her, fear evident on her face. She wasn't sure what her twin had went through but she that it must have been hell. Yui stopped running when she saw Mao climbing through the wall. She smiled, a pained yet happy smile. Yui managed to walk, not run, a little further before collapsing in Mao's arms.

"Y-Yui?" Mao choked when she saw the deep red marks covering Yui's back. "Who did this to you?"

"D-don't worry...about me. I'll, I'll be f-fine. We have to get...out of here."

"How? There's nowhere for us to run!" She looked around them. The woods were threatening and dark. Yui was injured and Mao couldn't hold her own against anything they might come across.

"I-if we can get to the...road, we can..flag down a bus. We can...get help..."

"Again, how? In case you haven't noticed, there's nowhere for us to run! We can't go through the forest and we can't go round the front. It's a freaking war zone. We'll get caught in the crossfire!" Selfish as it may have been, Mao was concerned with self-preservation, for herself and her sister.

Yui grabbed her arm and gave it a good squeeze.

"We...have to try."

Mao glanced over towards the sound of battle. It seemed to be dying down.

Wrapping Yui's left arm around her neck, they made their way along the side of the shrine. Jiro wasn't to be found but his former partner was still at large. His misshapen body stood twice his normal size with tusks protruding dangerously and giant, beefy hands trying to grab his opponents.

"They're distracted. T-they...they won't see us make a run for it."

"Right," Mao nodded, gripping her sister's arm tighter.

"No." Yui said suddenly.

Mao turned to her, confused.

"I-I'm too weak for you to c-carry. I'll just...slow you down. You. Go first."

"But-" Mao protested.

"For once, Mao, please...listen to me." Yui was so stern even when she looked so weak.

Mao reluctantly let go of Yui's arm.

"I'll be...behind you. Don't worry. On the count of three..."

"One."

"Two."

"Three!" They said simultaneously.

Mao let her feet kick off the ground immediately. She pushed her legs as hard as she could.

"Mao! Mao!" Someone was calling her.

She looked and saw a certain someone leaning over a body, waving his arm. Mao skidded in that direction.

"Shuichi-kun! What the hell is going on here!" She saw two other boys fighting the giant boar-demon. It hardly looked like the Atsuo she remembered. Jiro lay unresponsive in the shadows, either knocked out or dead. Mao couldn't help but feel just a little guilty. Despite helping to kidnap her, she didn't actually mean for him to die.

"Good, you can help me with something." He said quite suddenly, making Mao look away from the fight.

"Uh?"

He tore off a piece of fabric from the boy's uniform. There were two puncture wounds in his shoulder, all pussy and gross. Mao had to look away for a second.

"I need your help." He pleaded. "This friend of mine is going to die if I can't get the venom out and get him the antivenin."

"What you want me to do?"

"I need you to suck it out until I have the remedy ready."

"Him?" She pointed to the body.

"Yes." He said urgently.

Mao grimaced at the wound and gulped. She bent over and hesitated.

"Normally, I would ask that you buy me dinner first, but I'll...make an exception this once." She put her lips to the wound and started sucking. After a minute of this, she turned to spit out what was in her mouth. She looked before turning to the wound again to find Shuichi pulled out Daisuke's teeth, probably collecting venom.

"Yui, where are you?" She wondered after spitting out more of the venom.

There was a mighty thud. Atsuo was face down in the dirt, motionless. The other boys were out of breath and at least one of them was sweating. The taller one ran towards her and the boy prone on the ground.

"I take it you're the infamous sister I've heard so much about," he said not bothering to hide his vehemence.

Mao ignored him and worked on sucking out the poison.

"Kuwabara, can you hear me?" He asked, turning to the half-conscious fellow who could only groan in reply.

"At least he's still alive." He sighed.

"For now," the shorted boy was behind him.

"Don't even joke about that!" He shouted.

Kurama finally ran back, he was cradling something in his hand.

"Pull him up. He has to swallow this."

Mao struggled to pull Kuwabara into a seated position. He was much taller and much heavier than she was. In Kurama's hand, was a slime-green liquid with the texture of pea soup.

"Pardon the crude manner, Kuwabara, but I didn't have many resources to work with," he said apologetically as he held his hand over Kuwabara's lips. He made sure every last drop of the antivenin went down his throat. It would be close.

When the last drop past Kuwabara's lips, Kurama removed his.

"Now what?"

"We wait. I don't know if-"

Kuwabara sprang up on his own, the color back in his face.

"I told you nothing can keep me down! Where's the little bastard that bit me! Come on!"

"Um, Kuwabara. I hate to tell you this but the fight's pretty much over."

Kuwabara looked around and saw the carnage that had taken place while he was incapacitated. There were three dead bodies, possibly two if Jiro ever got up. The shrine was beaten badly, not that you could tell from before. There wasn't anyone left for him to fight.

Groaning, he kicked up some dirt.

"I'll be waiting for the next bus!" He shouted angrily and disappeared into the woods.

"Where's my sister?" Mao panicked. Yui was supposed to be behind her. But she wasn't. Where'd she go?

Three people came out from around the shrine. Yui was holding her hands in there with an old woman holding some kind of knife to her back. There was a second demon, who almost looked like Atsuo only smaller and didn't have as many tattoos.

"If you boys don't mind, we'll be taking our prey with us." The old woman sneered.

"Mao, stay back," said Kurama. He and his remaining friends took up defensive possessions in front of her.

"Everything was going quite smoothly. Every piece in its place, but no.." She sighed. "You go and ruin everything! Meddlesome little brats!"

Yui hissed like she had been burned.

"We worked _very_ hard on this scheme. Now, look at this mess. My son is dead and as you can see this little girl is all banged up. If Koenma had just cooperated, this wouldn't have happened."

"Yui, are you alright?" Kurama could see that she was in a lot of pain. There were cuts and bruises everywhere on her body. Particularly nasty cuts dragged across her cheek.

She weakly smiled. "Nothing I can't endure."

"Did you just say, _your _son?" Asked Yusuke.

The old woman held a sharp piece of iron, not a knife, towards Atsuo's body. "That one. The only one of the two who could have done something right. I wouldn't take another step." She saw them edge just a little closer while she was distracted. "Dragons from her clan have only one weakness, iron. A chemical reaction takes place beneath the surface of the flesh, boiling their cold blood. They're the kind that can't handle heat, so if you want to see her hurt any more than necessary, I suggest you step back."

Kurama looked Yui.

"She can't be serious, can she?" Yusuke said Kurama.

"My sister's a..."

"A dragon, yes." The old woman was growing more impatient. "Pity she's no better than a hatchling."

Yui looked at Mao with tears in her eyes. "I-I'm sorry. You weren't supposed to know."

Mao got up, walked around the boys, and started walking.

"What do you mean I wasn't supposed to know? How long has this been going on?"

"Mao, get back here! It's too dangerous." Yusuke hollered after her.

Yui bit her lip.

''Please, tell me the truth. I already know. They told me that Dad was a demon. I know but I want to hear it from you. Why wasn't I supposed to know?" Mao pressed on, both physically and with her questions.

"Eight years," Yui answered, shaking. "We've been hiding it from you for eight years."

"What?"

"When we were kids, this woman showed up, tried to take us away. She mistook you for me for some reason and almost got away." Yui was crying, weeping. The salt burned her cheek as it seeped into her wound. "I-I hurt you...I gave you that cut on your neck when I tried to rescue you...I...I.." Yui couldn't talk any more. Her words became indiscernible between her sobs.

A crackling sound erupted beneath her feet.

"Mother," the other son warned, pointing to the ground.

Ice was twisting its way under Yui, jagged arms of frost jutting out in every direction. The old woman looked, not with a look of greed at seeing in power, but with horror. She dropped her weapon and she and Takashi made a run for it before they were caught up in the ensuing snow storm. Yusuke made a move to go after them, but Kurama held out his arm to stop him.

"Let them go. We'll get them later. But first.."

The air went from mild to freezing in just a few short seconds. Yui collapsed to her knees, holding her arms across her chest, and her head bowed. Snow blew against them like tiny daggers.

"How in the hell is she doing that! It's like a blizzard!" Yusuke was losing visual contact of just about everything.

"That's not blizzard! That's my sister!"

Mao had never come to her sister's defense before. The words sounded so strange yet honest. She had more questions than answers, but it didn't seem to matter. Her sister needed her. There was pain etched in her face, and it wasn't due because of her injuries, not just those. Slowly, Mao began to understand why Yui locked herself away from everyone for so many years. Which is why she wrapped her arms around her and held on tight.

"Leaves...from the vine," she slowly sang, remembering that old melody from their childhood. "F-falling so slow, like fragile, tiny shells, drifting in the foam. Little soldier boy, come marching home. And brave soldier boy...comes marching home."

The wind and the ice halted. The ice that pooled around Yui's feet melted. The miniature snow storm was calmed by that nostalgic lullaby. Yui slowly moved her hands so that she hugged Mao back.

"Look out!" Yusuke shouted.

Visibility returned to everyone but Yui couldn't see Takashi standing behind her, a sick grin on his face and the dreaded iron chain in his hands. Yui pushed Mao away, but couldn't stop him. The last thing she remembered was her sister screaming for her and a scorching heat spreading around her throat. Her hands, bare since she had lost her gloves somewhere in the woods, touched the chains wrapped securely around her throat. The pads of her fingers were easily burned. Only a violent choked sound could come from her throat. Mao was reaching out to her, unsure of what to do. She was terrified but powerless to do anything. Yui tried to free herself. The pain in her throat spread into her brain. Everything, every inch of her body felt like it was on fire. Black spots danced around her eyes...

"Spirit gun!"

Suddenly, she could breathe again. It was a ragged, harsh breath, but she was breathing nonetheless. Mao was screaming from the top of her lungs. Yui felt the loosened chain fall away from her and she was lifted into somebody's lap. Mao's face hovered over her and her hand was on the back of her head.

"Yui! Yui, can you hear me!"

She slowly raised her hand and touched Mao's cheek. Her calloused and burned fingers could barely feel Mao's soft skin. A hand took hers and squeezed it firmly. Yui looked up into the sky and counted the stars until she fell asleep.

* * *

Phew, that was exhausting. I'm sorry that I'm really, really, really late. Just a lot of things going on. I'm trying to save money for this anime convention next month and get ready for school. It's been crazy. In case you're wondering about the song, it's from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Leaves From the Vine. It's sad, but I needed something. I hope this chapter is better than where I left off the unrevised version. I've been dealing with some issues at home lately so I hope that hasn't effected this chapter too much and it's better than before. Thanks for reading.


	8. Chapter 8

There was a song running through her mind. A woman was singing to her. No, it was Mao. Was..she trying calm her down? Like..._then. _There was a searing pain around her throat. Why did she feel so hot? It felt like her whole body was fire. Mao's arms, Yui knew that it was her sister by the way that she smelled and how her arms felt, were wrapped around her tightly.

It was so nostalgic. Where did the time go? Yui could almost see the hills and the distant mountains in the distance, white with snow and dark holes their tiny feet marred the immaculate hillside. They would climb to the top of the hill during their games. Their hands were clasped tightly to the others like they could never be separated.

Just the two of them, now, on the hilltop. Everything looked so beautiful. Mao's smiled, something that she seemed to forget to do with earnest. Yui tried to smile back. Her sister pulled her closer...like she loved her. Yui didn't think that Mao would look her way. And she held her, just like she used to do when she loved her. The pleasant and long ago past melted into a black void. Yui could hear Mao calling for her, but her voice grew further and further away. Yui felt like she was falling...

With Yui unconscious in her arms, Mao frantically looked around then back at her sister.

"Yui!" She shook her sister but she remained unresponsive.

Kurama took her hands and steadied her. He was kneeling in front of her, eerily calm but serious. He took Yui from her and was met with much resistance. Mao hadn't realized how tightly she had been clinging to the last scraps of Yui's shirt. She was laid out in the grass very carefully. Her chest didn't rise and fall like it should if a person was breathing normally. Mao grabbed hold of Yui's hand and refused to let it go. Kurama felt around Yui's throat. He turned grim.

"What is it?" Mao panicked.

"Her throat is swollen. She's barely moving oxygen in and out of her body."

"What does that mean?" Mao bit her lip, waiting for the worst part.

He paused. "If we don't find a way to bring the swelling down, she won't make it."

"Don't say that!" Mao could no longer control herself. "There has to be something you can do. Anything."

Kurama looked Yui again, noticing the many other problems, the very bloody, bruised, and discolored sort of problems. Aside from the strange burn marks around her throat, there was extensive damage to the extremities, especially her right arm. Minor cuts and bruises were found on ever limb. Her knees looked like she had been beaten bloody. Trickles of dried blood ran down her pale legs.

"Help me turn her over." He had been wondering why most of her shirt was missing. It was barely clinging to her skin and it seemed that only sticking sweat and blood were the only things keeping it close to her skin. Yui may have sustained more injuries on her back but he needed to know for sure.

Mao let go of Yui's hand and helped him turn her over on her side. Yui softly moaned when Kurama examined the bright red markings all over her back. He ignored the exposed white-colored bra and chose not to point it out through any means at all. Her hair was moved out of the way so he could see things better. In the twilight, there wasn't any light to spare. He had to make due with the stars and rising waxing moon.

The strange markings criss-crossed across Yui's back and shoulders. They were bright as blood, swollen, and raised as if she had been burned. There was one burn mark that was darker than the others and he had no way to explain how or why it was that way. He felt her right shoulder, feeling the disconnected bone out of place.

"What on earth happened to her?" He said out loud.

She had been running through the woods like a mad woman but from what? The suspect was clearly the dead man not far away. The other demon was nowhere to be seen. She had escaped into the woods during Yui's little _episode_. Around her wrists were smaller lines encircling like handcuffs. The only person who could tell him, them, about her ordeal was Yui herself and her injuries were extensive and possibly untreatable.

"What do we do?" Mao asked.

He looked, pitying her. Mao wore an expression of a person on the brink of despair. There was guilt, as there should have been in his opinion. It was, technically speaking, Mao's fault to begin with. Deciding whose fault it was would have to wait until later. Yui was in danger. Her throat was so swollen, he didn't think she would be able to swallow any kind of medicine. Some ice might work but where would they to get that around here and with Yui, a natural-born ice maker, unconscious?

"Yusuke, can you get in contact with Botan?" Kurama asked, turning to him.

He pulled out his communicator from his back pocket. "Right here."

"Tell her to find our location and get here immediately. It's an emergency."

Yusuke nodded and flipped the communicator open.

While he was busy doing that, Kurama turned his attention back to Yui. Her breathing was still shallow but it seemed that laying on her side helped for some reason. He went into his own pocket and deftly removed just a few seeds. He had them in his hands. They wouldn't be able to wake her up or completely heal her, but they would certainly prolong the need for Botan's assistance for just a little while longer. There was one detail he almost forgot. Yui may have known his secret but Mao did not. The idea about worrying over Mao knowing his secret quickly became silly. She had just been told that not only that demons and exist, that her father was a demon, and that her sister had supernatural powers, but that her sister was a demon too. It wouldn't shock her that much.

"Mao, can you keep a secret?"

"Eh?" She looked confused and for a just a brief moment didn't look as terrified as she had been at the thought of possibly losing her only sister.

Kurama placed a few of the seeds along the burn that looked the most painful and the one around her neck. He gently pressed them into the burns. Yui hissed sharply but did not wake up.

"What are you doing to her?" Mao grew furious.

"I need you to trust me," he placed his hand over the burn on Yui's back, between her shoulder blades, and concentrated.

Mao had opened her mouth to further berate him, but was soon silenced by the odd yellow glow emanating from his hand. She was mesmerized by the light coming from his hand. The burn on her back started glowing too, like the light from his hand was flowing into the wounds. At a closer look, Mao saw tiny beads pushed into the burns. She said not a word as Kurama did the same with the burn around Yui's neck. The glowing light faded with time and at first nothing seemed to be happening. Mao held Yui's hand, squeezed tight, and prayed to the gods that may have resided in the abandoned shrine to heal her sister.

Slowly, the burns faded, but not by much. Kurama checked Yui's throat again, this time sighing with relief.

"Her airway is clearing. She'll be able to breathe easier until we can get help."

"What was that?" Mao said, curious. "That trick you just did."

"It was no trick," Kurama answered. "I was putting some of my spirit energy into these seeds so that they will spread antibiotics to fight off any possible infection and repair dead skin cells."

"So you're using my sister as plant food?" Mao growled.  
"No," he corrected. "They won't sprout unless I want them to. The seeds will stay as seeds until they are removed. I don't have anything to treat the wounds directly. The seeds are acting as something like a topical ointment, minus the texture."

Mao slowly began to understand and nodded quietly. She looked at Yui, and smiled, just a tiny one, when her chest started to rise and fall as normal.

Some kind of _whooshing _sound came from up above. Mao turned and her jaw dropped. As if this day couldn't get any stranger.

"Hey, Shuichi-kun?" Mao couldn't tear her eyes away from the sky.

"Yes."

"You see that woman up there on a flying oar, don't you?" She pointed to the figure descending quickly towards the shrine.

"I do. That's Botan, our friend. She'll be able to help more than I can."

"I was just making sure I wasn't hallucinating. I've had a very strange d-" Mao was brought to halt.

"I can't leave you alone for one minute without causing trouble!"

_Whack_

Mao saw Yusuke's head come in contact with that magic oar as wielded by a blue-haired woman, probably in mid-twenties.

"If it wasn't for me, you'd be dealing with a lot worse! Now, if you're done abusing your stupid oar, there's somebody who needs your attention," Yusuke grabbed Botan's wrist and pulled her towards them.

Botan clapped her hands over her mouth when she first laid on eyes Yui's beaten body.

"What on earth happened here?" She whispered as she knelt down and placed Yui's head in her lap.

"It was iron that did this." Kurama answered. He hoped that Botan could fill in a few extra blanks that the old woman had left open.

"Iron, you say?" She asked as she looked at the burns more closely. She even looked at the burns on Yui's fingers, which left them red and badly calloused. "We have to take her to Genkai's. I don't have anything to treat these burns and she needs to be in some place cold right away."

"Why does she need to be cold?" Yusuke asked.

Botan sighed as if she had been asked a stupid question, which in a way it was.

"We have to bring down her fever and the swelling. More to the point, she's the kind that _needs_ the cold and ice in order to survive." She took Yui by one of her arms and situated it over her shoulder. With some help from Kurama, Botan was able to pull her off the ground. But Mao refused to let her go.

Kurama gently pulled her hand away from Yui's. He looked at her, trying to smile.

"She's in good hands." Was all he could think of to say at the time.

Mao looked at her sister as she hung off of Botan like a sad rag doll. She reluctantly let go and retreated.

Botan sat astride the oar with her arm around Yui's waist.

"I'll go up ahead. You boys can meet me there." And the magic oar kicked off with no effort and she and Yui sped took off into the night sky like a witch out of fairy tale. Mao lost all feeling in her legs and could no longer stand on her own. Her knees buckled and she fell forward. Her knees went first, hitting the cold, hard ground and then she put her arms in front of her; the palms of her hands were scratched by the prickly grass.

"My god," she faintly whispered. After that, she wasn't sure what went on from there. The trip to this _Genkai's_ was all a blur, nothing of note. One minute it felt like she was at the shrine, and the next thing she knew she was sitting in some kind of living room, staring blankly at a black T.V screen. Nobody had said a word to her and she to them. All she could think about was a litany of all the horrible things she had done to her own sister. If what Yui said was true, and there was no reason to not believe her as everybody seemed to know that lying was not in her good-natured spirit, then from the very beginning her sister had been looking out for her and all she felt was grief over an accident that happened while she was trying to save her. There was a long list of penances Mao would have to pay, that is if Yui ever woke up.

_No!_ Mao beat her forehead with hands. _She's going to live._

She was hoping against hope that they had made it time. That the burns were treatable and they could still save Yui. According to the whispers between Botan and the others, she had never seen in person the type of burns that marred Yui's body. They never said anything to Mao directly out of respect and fear that she would go into a melt down and do something self-destructive. All there was for her to do was to sit and wait. And wait, and wait, and stare into a T.V screen that wasn't even on. The late evening hours soon gave way to early dawn, and by that time, Mao reluctantly allowed herself to fall asleep on the couch.

In the morning, she found a warm blanket tossed over her and old woman with gray hair sitting on the floor with a cup of tea. Mao rubbed her eyes.

"What time is it?" She moaned, sitting up on the couch.

"It's almost noon." The woman answered before taking a sip of her tea.

"Where's my sister? Is she okay?"

The old woman set down her tea. She was short and cranky but her eyes were quite sharp. Mao flinched slightly when she turned towards her with those eyes.

"Do you want to see her?"

Mao threw the blanket away from her. "Of course I do!"

The old woman took up her tea again and it almost sounded like she chuckled. "From what I've heard, you don't exactly deserve the 'Sister of the Year' award."

Frustrated with all of her pent up emotions, Mao rose immediately to her feet. She turned her fiery gaze to the old woman who didn't seem to be all that impressed by her show of outrage and insult.

"I know that I haven't been the best person, let alone the best sister. If I had known anything, I wouldn't have acted the way I did and you don't know how sorry I am for everything that I've said and done to her over the years. Nobody feels more sorry than I do. I have a _lot_ of making up to do and I don't intend on going back to the way I was with her. She probably stayed behind on purpose so I wouldn't get hurt!" At this point, Mao started to notice the tears running down her cheeks and falling to the floor.

The old woman may have been a little move and felt pity for her. However, it was rather difficult to say what the woman was feeling as her facial expression barely changed and that change was hardly noticeable. She set aside her cup for good, stood, and began to walk away.

"Follow me," she ordered without ever even making sure Mao followed, which she did.

The old woman, who had not yet revealed her name, led Mao down several hallways and down a flight of stares. She led her down into a basement and, finally, towards a sealed door of solid steel.

"She's in there." She gestured towards the door.

Mao already guessed what it was. A walk-in freezer. She was already fearing the worst. She had seen one too many cop shows where they stuck the corpses of victims inside. Her heart was pounding inside her chest. Had her nightmare actually come true?  
Mao uneasily stepped forward and her shaking hand pulled open the door. She was met with the coldest blast of air she had ever felt before in her life. Her eyes were nearly screwed shut in the process. Mao edged her way inside, forgetting that she had no shoes on. Her feet were protected only by a thin layer of socks, insufficient for the icy cold, and a little slippery, concrete floor. She tip-toed towards this pile of fabric laying on the floor. She knelt beside it, and pulled away some of the thin sheets.

Yui was lightly snoring in her sleep, her cheeks bright pink. Mao might have wept openly and throw herself around Yui's sleeping form, or the old woman.

"Hurry up, you're letting the cold air out!" The old woman stood in the doorway with her arms folded across her chest.

Mao placed a kiss on Yui's forehead before bolting for the door and closing it shut behind her, gently as to not wake her sister up.

"We're lucky she was able to get here in time. Her injuries were _unique_, to say the least. Whoever inflicted them on had only one intention."

"What's that?"

"Torture." She replied bluntly.

Mao felt the color wash clean from his face.

"Why would anyone want to do that?" She was horrified.

"You tell me."

"How would I know?" Mao felt just a little insulted.

The old woman shrugged.

"Who are you anyways?" Mao was fed up referring to her as 'old woman.'

"You can call me Genkai." She answered and turned to lead Mao back upstairs.

* * *

Yui was still dreaming. This time she was lying on her back, wearing a white kimono that almost matched the snow around her. The black above her released hundreds of thousands snowflakes from unseen clouds. She was sprawled out on a hilltop, one arm near her head while the other rested on her stomach. She wanted to move but found no strength, bodily and otherwise, to get up. She was comfortable where she was.

She watched the snow fall around her and on top of her. It was only a dream after all, and compared to the others, this one was surprisingly pleasant. She could almost sleep here, like this, if it wasn't for the nagging urge to get up and move.

There was a tiny voice from someone. It was distant, small, and indiscernible. Yui couldn't even tell if it was male or female. Whoever or whatever it was, seemed to be calling her. She could faintly hear her name being called from a long way. It was neither frightened nor in pain. It was a perfectly calm. She stopped ignoring the resistance to move and finally sat up in the snow.

As she sat, she surveyed her surroundings, which were bleak and lonely. There were a scant number of trees lined up. Their barks were black against the white snow. Everything was visible as if she was standing there in the middle of the day, yet the sky was black as an endless chasm. Neither the sun nor the moon nor the stars were anywhere to be seen. It was like they ceased to exist. Apart from the strangeness of the dream world, Yui still felt like there was nothing for her to be afraid. There were no blood, no sisters being turned into frozen statues. What had Yui to fear from this place? The trees were rather intimidating, just a little, with their long, crooked branches outstretched like hideous fingers. Still, it wasn't like they had monstrous faces in their trunks. She saw nobody else either in the small valley down the hill or on any of the surrounding hills behind her. Yui descended down the slope with some grace. It was supposed that the years of figure skating had helped make some of her movements and mannerisms appear more graceful than some other girl's, but only her mother said such things and mothers were often prone to flattery towards her children.

Upon standing up, Yui found something else that was strange, very strange indeed. Her hair fell to her shoulders, however the strands were black, not white. She shrugged, once again reaffirming that this was just a dream. Her hair could have turned purple if she really wanted it to. Yui chose not to experiment with her hair color and instead traveled down the hill, and into the grove of bare, snow-covered trees. There was no grass that poked through the snow. Only the trees protruded through the thick blanket.

The grove seemed to go on for miles and miles. Yui didn't question anything. She heard that voice again. It had grown louder and more distinctive. She listened closely. The voice certainly belonged to a man, perhaps a young man. This wouldn't have been unusual in a girl's dream. A lot of teenage girls dreamed of boys, but Yui, for obvious reasons, wasn't your average girl. She never paid attention to the opposite sex. They only seemed interested in her more attractive sister and they wouldn't bother giving her the time of day, not that she wanted them to. Not to sound picky, but most of her male peers just didn't meet any of her standards.

She continued to hear the voice as she walked along in the grove. The trees drew closer and closer together. Their branches would interlace each others, making a thicket of dark limbs. There were more trees beyond the ones that stood closest to her. Dozens more on each side, more likely more than just a dozen, stood behind the trees directly next to the path, if there was a path. Yui had seen no sign of a trail or a road because the snow had covered everything up. If there was a trail, there was no distinction between it and the rest of the grounds.

Suddenly, it felt as if something fell from around her neck. Yui looked down and saw that her father's medallion, which she had no idea she was wearing, had fallen and landed at her feet. She bent down to pick up when there was a strange noise coming from the trees. It wasn't a voice, but it was the sound of feet crunching on the snow. Yui's head snapped in the direction of the sound, but when she looked, she saw nothing but the trees. Shrugging her shoulders, she bent over again to pick up her father's medallion, only to find a set of paws standing where the medal had fallen. Before she knew it, a pair of jaws had seized the chain between two rows of sharp white teeth and the animal ran off with her greatest treasure.

There was only thing for her to do, it came as a natural instinct. Yui ran after the creature, which came with great difficulty because she never had the opportunity to learn how to run in a formal kimono as she had been wearing.

The animal was white and large for its species. Its fur was smooth and spotless, like the virgin snow it trampled on. It had large ears to hear her with and a long tail which sometimes dragged along the ground. Yui nearly lost sight of it once or twice because it was so white. It was lithe, made for running it seemed. The speed at which the animal had left Yui stunned. But she felt more anxious and frightened at losing her father's medallion than she was amazed at the animal's supernatural speed. It vanished in between the trees. Yui followed it despite the threatening stance the trees had taken. She pulled back the branches that got in her way and found the thief waiting for her at the base of a gnarly tree atop yet another hill. It was a secluded tree, much taller than the others, and it wasn't just due to the fact that it stood on a hill. It would have surpassed all of the others in the grove without standing on the hill. The trunk was sort of twisted. The tree was twisted towards one way and bent. Its tremendous branches blended into the black sky and Yui couldn't tell where they sky ended and where the tree began.

She became so distracted with the tree that she had forgotten about the animal who had made off with the medallion. When it disappeared, Yui panicked. She rushed towards the base of the tree, going around the trunk and searching for the thief. The creature was nowhere to be seen. Only when she saw the blue jewels in the dragon's head twinkle in the corner of her eye could she find it. It sat patiently on a giant rock, the medallion was dangling temptingly from its white, fuzzy jaws.

It owned a triangular head. It was large, very large indeed for a fox. It looked more like a majestic rice god than it did as one of those more mischievous tricksters old legends warned her about. It had a lean body but in all appearances looked quite healthy. The fox didn't look underfed, rather was strong. It looked cunning too.

Yui drew near. It didn't fly away again. The fox remained perfectly still for her. It stared at her with gold-colored eyes. She outstretched her hand to take back her medallion and had her hand around it, when she paused. Taking her eyes away from the treasure, Yui looked into the fox's eyes. There was something about them that seemed so familiar. It was as if she were looking into the eyes of an old friend...

There was nothing spectacular or memorable about how her dream ended and how she woke up from it. Yui found herself on a cot, facing a frost covered wall. For a split second, she wondered if she had frozen a room by accident, again. She peered her eyes open just a little wider. The cot she was lying on creaked and groaned as she sat up, shifting her feet over the edge so that they touched the floor. There was only a metal shelf that held various frozen meats and other things of the like.

She touched her face. Her fever was gone, so it seemed. Though, her back and her knees were a story entirely.

Yui eased herself up slowly. Even slowly, she felt the rush of blood down to her legs and she teetered on her feet for a moment. This was when she noticed that she was not in the clothes she remembered she was wearing. Instead of shirt and capri pants, she had been dressed in a pale blue yukata and her hair was plaited into a long braid, tied with black ribbon. On her feet were neither socks nor shoes; she walked on the solid concrete barefooted. She noticed too that her fingers were wrapped with strips of medical tape and felt the same kind of material against her throat. There was even some on her back; she couldn't feel the fabric of the yukata against her skin there.

There was but one door. When she reached it, Yui opened it and couldn't see much. The room outside the door was dark. She was in a basement, at least she guessed she was in a basement. Where else would someone put a walk-in freezer. Shutting the door behind her, Yui carefully made her way around the room. Eventually, she would find some stairs. Climbing them proved a more tiresome venture than it seemed. Whether it was due to atrophy in her legs or the fact that her knees were so badly damaged from kneeling on unforgiving cave floor for hours, traveling up took much longer than she would have liked. It was like she was learning how to walk again, or climbing the stairs as an old woman. She certainly felt like an old woman. There was pain in her knees and in her back and having white hair didn't make her feel any younger either.

There was shouting coming from somewhere. Just like in her dream, Yui followed the source of the noise. The place she walked through appeared familiar to her. Within minutes, she started to guess where she was. This place must have been owned by that mysterious Genkai she heard so little about. The walls seemed that she had seen them before, but she could be wrong.

Yui continued to follow the sounds, the sounds of yelling and arguing, perhaps even fighting. All of that noise was coming from one room. She put her hands in between the tiny crack in the sliding door. Her mother was there, looking every bit of what her nickname portrayed her as, with Kurama's head grappled in the crook of her arm.

"What are earth is going on here?" Yui rasped. It hurt her throat to speak.

At once, the noise and violence stopped. Yuki released Kurama from her almost deadly hold, leaving him to gasp for her. She stood up and ran over to embrace her daughter.

"You're alright," she sighed with relief, wrapping her strong arms around Yui's athletic yet small frame.

"I'm fine."

Yuki took the girl by her shoulders and guided her inside where she had Yui sit next to her at the low table. Yui was handed a steaming cup of tea.

"Drink this," her mother suggested. "It'll help your throat."

Yui took it, and drank. The effects weren't as incredible as she hoped it would be, but her throat did feel a little bit better.

Now that the commotion was over and Kurama returned to his upright position, sitting a little further away from her mother, Yui glanced around the room. She felt nervous with so many eyes watching her. It was unnerving. These friends of her classmate's, whether to call him Shuichi-kun or Kurama was still up for debate, appeared like they were worried for her well-being. Still, she didn't trust them enough. She knew that sounded selfish and ungrateful considering what they had already done for her and her sister, but she also couldn't help the way she felt towards them. At the moment, she wanted to crawl under a rock and hide there for the rest of her days.

"Yui," her mother spoke up, gently squeezing her hand, "I know this might be difficult for you to talk about, but can you tell us what happened in the woods?"

_The woods_. She was talking about what happened that day. Was it yesterday or weeks ago? How many days of school had Yui actually missed? The thought was horrifying to her as she had never missed more than a day or two from school. Combined with the anxiety from being watched and the horror of missing school for too long, Yui drew her hand towards her mouth. She refused to look up from her cup of tea and placed her fingernails between her nail. Whether or not they were clean, Yui began chewing on them until her mother pulled her hand away. Yuki looked so distraught and guilty even. Yui didn't know if she could confront her own mother about the horrors she experienced in the woods. Unconsciously, her other hand went to her back. She could still hear the rattling chain and smell the smoldering sulfur of that twisted individual who, like a true and honest sadist, enjoyed burning off her flesh with the iron.

Yui shook her head, silently. Her mind refused to go back there. She couldn't relive that night. Not now, not ever.

Yuki seemed to be more understanding than she thought. Her mother nodded, somewhat disappointed, however her smile was warm and compassionate. She pulled Yui towards her and hugged her again.

"Could you tell us what's going on, lady, or are we just going to sit here and stare at each other?" Yusuke rudely interjected.

Mrs. Kagami glared at him, "You saw what I did to your friend over there. I didn't earn the title 'Hokkaido Dragon Lady' by being a pampered, spoiled rich girl."

"Could you at least fill in some holes? We know that Yui is _special_, and we're just trying to figure out all the rest of the pieces of the puzzle. We want to know as much as you do about this, but we can't get very far if you don't help out and fill in some of the blanks."

Mrs. Kagami sighed. "What do you want to know?"

Yusuke leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. "For starters, why does those guys call your kid a dragon and how come only Yui is affected."

Slowly, Mrs. Kagami removed herself from Yui. She closed her eyes like she was remembering something. When she opened them again, her eyes were darkened by sadness and remorse.

"Yui and I are, were, the only ones who knew her secret. Eight years ago, my husband's sister, who I didn't know even to exist until she showed up out of nowhere, tried one night take the girls away because of some half-brained revenge scheme against. It didn't work. Izo chased her away but Yui accidentally struck Mao in the neck with an ice-pin when she tried to save her."

Yui wanted to die. Her head was bowed so low it might have touched the table. Her long hair concealed her face and whatever she was feeling from everybody in the room.

"We had Mao's memories _adjusted_ so she wouldn't remember such an event. We were going to tell her when the girls turned 14, but then," Mrs. Kagami swallowed hard, looked down at her left hand for a minute, and took a deep breath, "I had to make a change of plans after he vanished."

The faces around them ranged from confused to troubled. A person might be able to disappear but there was something about a dragon disappearing that made little sense.

"What do you mean he vanished?" Asked Kurama, now fully recuperated from his impromptu wrestling match.

"He disappeared! Poof, gone!" Mrs. Kagami raised her voice. "A couple months after the attempted kidnapping, he received a message from his home village in the Demon World. He promised to be back in two weeks. When he didn't show up immediately, I summed it up as being held back by some thing or another. I started making up all of these excuses for him being late. I waited a few days more, but he still didn't show up. He was the sort of man who kept his promises. Izo wouldn't just abandon me and our children. He made his family his number one priority." She discretely wiped the single tear from her eye. "A few years ago, I moved the girls down here, where I thought we could blend in better and make it harder to find us. But I guess...I was wrong."

"So...what kind of demon was your husband?"

Mrs. Kagami took another deep breath. "Izo came from a family in the north of the Demon World. I think he called it the _Land of Eternal Winter_. He was a special kind of demon, a dragon. He once told me that dragons from the Demon World are different from those that used to live here. They were bigger, stronger, and had a habit of making meals out of demons smaller than they were, one of the reasons why they flew to four separate corners of that world. Over time, so he told me, they developed into four completely different clans and also developed abilities suited to their environments. The Southern clan with fire, those in the East, thunder and lightning, those in the West, earth, and in the North–"

"Ice and snow," Kurama finished.

Mrs. Kagami nodded. "Unfortunately, he wouldn't go much into detail about his relatives. After meeting his sister, I can understand why."

"Was she that bad?" Asked Yusuke.

"She had similar powers to Izo, but different. She could control ice, but she couldn't create an ice storm or deflect any kind of ice thrown at her. She could some of her own, but it was black. After the incident, he warned me and Yui in case we ever ran into her again, or someone like her, never to touch the black ice. Apparently, it causes certain death." Mrs. Kagami answered.

Yusuke this time was the one to nod, "Good to know." He paused. "I just have one more question, if you don't mind." He seemed out of sorts, almost embarassed by this statement.

"Alright," Mrs. Kagami indulged him, but in the next second she would wish she hadn't.

"If your husband was a dragon, how did you two..." He made a crude gesture with his hands that made even the only adult in the room, Mrs. Kagami, blush.

Mrs. Kagami made a face that was both mentally disturbed and confused at once. In summary, 'what did you just say?'

"He has a human form, you know. It wouldn't be very inconspicuous to have giant white dragon flying over Hokkaido, would it?" There was more than a _touch_ of sarcasm in her tone. "If we're all done here," she huffed, "I'd like to take my daughter home."

She stood but Yui grabbed her by the sleeve.

"What it is, sweetheart?"

It took Yui more than a minute or two to collect herself. She looked up and into her mother's eyes and said quite firmly, "I want to learn how to control my powers."

Mrs. Kagami was stunned. Yui hadn't expressed a desire to learn how to control them other than using superficial means, which in retrospect weren't doing as well as they had planned. Admittedly, Mrs. Kagami had seen the effects such poor attempts to control Yui's powers which were growing stronger by the year. Without Izo, there was no one else to turn to.

Yui let go of her and turned to Yusuke. "Surely, there must be somebody you know that can help me. Anybody."

Yusuke was equally stunned as he didn't know any one either who could help. Mrs. Kagami sat back down and looking at her daughter, she saw a face that she hadn't seen before. Yui looked a little scared, but at the same time, determined, fiercely so.

"Why the sudden change?" She asked, concerned.

Yui took another deep breath. "When Father gave me that medallion, I made promise to him that I would be the one to look after and protect the family. So far, I have failed miserably. It was partially my fault that this happened. If I had planned better, if I had been more aware and more willing to fight back, this wouldn't have happened. I barely save my sister because of some fluke. I lost control when I told her the truth. It just sort of...burst out of me and I couldn't contain it. If she hadn't calmed me down, I would have turned Japan into a giant ice rink. She isn't going to be there every single time I lose control. I _have _to learn to control it and not be dependent on her to help maintain it."

"I think I might be of some assistance." Genkai opened the door wider and stepped inside. She remained standing rather than taking a seat at the already crowded table.

"What are you talking about, old lady?" Yusuke was incredulous.

"What do you think I mean, dimwit? If I can teach a bone head like you how to use your spirit energy, then I can teach that timid snowflake over there to control her powers."

Yui wasn't sure how she felt about being called a 'timid snowflake.' She supposed it was better than being called a Snow Maiden.

"You mean it?" Yui asked hopefully.

"Who else is going to do it?" The old woman retorted. "Besides, you can do some chores for me in order to make up for the wet fire wood you made a few days ago!"

Yui cringed. She had forgotten about that.

* * *

You guys better appreciate this chapter very much because I wrote this while fighting off my arch-nemesis, the common cold. I've been sneezing into a tissue every hour and blowing my nose every ten minutes. My nose is stuffed up and my throat is dry and scratchy because I have to breathe through my mouth because my nose is stuffed up. Then there's the coughing, the aches, and the constant throbbing in my frontal lobe that is slowly enveloping my whole brain. Anyways, who's up for a training montage? I know that somebody requested more Kurama/Yui interaction, but I couldn't seem to fit it in there and make it work. Sorry about that to whoever suggested it. I'm more about trying to build the relationship. To me, Yui has a few similarities with Kurama's character. I don't want to force them together after only eight chapters. Spoiler alert, though, Yui's probably going to develop PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), not going to lie. After what she went through, who wouldn't? And it's kind of my trope, almost every time I write a story, whether fanfiction or regular fiction, I end up writing female characters who have some kind of psychological issue and the other trope is that I kill people. A lot. I think I'm starting to become the G.R.R. Martin of the fanfiction world. Well, that's all I have to say. Goodnight and pleasant reading!


	9. Chapter 9

This is more of a collaboration with XxHeartMenderxX rather than a submission contest. Being the only person to answer the call, I very much appreciate her entry. It's certainly more than I expected, but it paid off so well. Most of it is more copying and paraphrasing her chapter, which is why this is a collaboration. She's pretty good at what she does and I hope she's able to get people reading her stuff as well. I know I will! Thanks for reading!

* * *

The sunlight that poured through the curtains by means of the small crack disrupt Yui from her dreamless slumber. It was hard to imagine that it had only been two weeks since she insisted on training with Genkai, and she no sooner regretted that decision. Every day, after school, she would get on the bus to take her to the temple, do her homework on her way over, train for a minimum of four hours, occasionally more if the old woman saw fit, and then hop back on the bus home. There, she would finish whatever homework that was left unfinished or take a short nap. She come up, tired, sweaty, and half asleep. She'd climb in the shower and then climb straight into bed. The next day would be repeated as the day before. Except for today, on Sundays where Genkai allowed her just one day of rest before beginning the cycle all over again on Monday.

Waking with a groan, Yui sat up in bed and stretched, hoping to sooth the aching irritation wound up in her back and shoulders. And in her neck, her arms, legs, and anywhere else she might have forgotten about. With a final yawn, she got up and took a long look around her room. Nothing too drastic had changed, despite what had conspired two weeks ago. Her room had gotten messy, displeasing her. There was dirty laundry laying on the floor, like a stain on the carpet. She was so tired coming home last night that she had changed directly into her bed clothes without even taking a shower or putting her clothes in the hamper. There was a fine layer of dust on her nick-knacks and emptying the trash bin was long over due. The mess would haunt her until she fixed it. At the moment, it would wait until later in the afternoon or evening, depending on her sister's or mother's plans.

Around this time of day, she would be getting ready for the day, read a book for a few hours and then head over to the rink. But today was going to be special. Mao got a perfect score on her math test. Mrs. Kagami had jokingly added that if she rewarded both of the girls for perfect scores, Yui would drive the family into poverty. The family was going out to the movies and then dinner as Mao's reward.

With a sigh, Yui stood and looked for an outfit to wear. Her closet was filled with mostly blues and blacks dotted occasionally with white blouses. If she was more honest, she would complain that her clothes were depressing, like that would change anything. Dark clothes tended to hide more and Yui was just too shy to go out buy something of her in her favorite color. To top it off, she wasn't even sure if she could pull that color off. Her skin was so pale, her eyes were so foreign-looking, and when she blushed her skin turned so red instead of a pleasant, humble rose-color. The leather gloves rested on her bookshelf, forgotten.

Out of habit, she picked them up but didn't put them on. Instead, she stared at them for long moment, debating on whether to include them or not. Despite Genkai's reassurances that her control was improving, Yui couldn't help but wonder if it was better safe than sorry. Genkai seemed to think that they acted as some kind of psychological trigger. By covering her hands, and subconsciously her inner self and her powers, this unconscious fear that without them she would repeat past mistakes. That she would become more aware of her emotions and start to fear what she should have been embracing.

_I'll take them with me_. She thought placing them on her desk to pick up in a little while. _If it becomes too much, at least I'll know where they are._ Putting the gloves temporarily out of her mind, Yui returned to the task at hand, putting an outfit together. She never really had much trouble before. But then again, she never really put much effort or thought into what she wanted to wear. She would, more or less, slap clothes together and if they looked okay to her, she would walk out the front door in what she picked from her closet. Today, she was going out of her way to look nice for her sister's special day.

Ever since that day, Mao had began to change for the better. She insisted that they walk together. Once or twice, maybe even more times than Yui could remember, she gently chided Yui in walking faster so they could reach the school together. Mao even went out of her way to have lunch with her, despite the confused and even hateful stare from her soon-to-be ex-friends. They were starting to become aware in the change that occurred between the sisters. And they resented Yui for it. Despite their best attempts, Mao was able to defend her sister, simultaneously breaking her friendship with Ruka and Miyumi.

She hadn't seen much of Kurama/Shuichi Minamino, which she was grateful for.

Finally, she pulled a pair of dark skinny jeans from her dresser and a navy blue top. Yui paused looking at what she pulled out. It was a flowing halter top. She may have whitened when she saw how much of her back was exposed. Her hand went to her back and gently touched the still sensitive markings. Yui looked at her closet again, but nothing else really appealed to her.

There was a long-sleeved black cardigan neatly folded with some of her shirts and sweaters found in her dresser. Yui sighed with relief.

Heading to the bathroom, she took a long shower with lukewarm water. She might have turned it up just a little more to further help soothe the aching muscles in her back and shoulders, however, people like her didn't do so well with heat. Warm water was about as hot as she could handle. It was enough for now to stand in the warm shower, letting the weeks worth of stress and physical aches be washed away.

Silence largely remained in the Kagami household when she finished and dried off, stepping out with her hair braided and pulled up into a bun with the help of some bobby pins. She continued with her usual routine of gently taking a special brush to her wig, putting on the wig cap, and putting on the wig itself. Once it was situated firmly on her head, she left her room and went to find her mother in the kitchen making breakfast.

"Ah, good morning, Yui," Mrs. Kagami greeted, "I was about to wake you up. Why don't you check on those flowers your brought over from Genkai's. I think they should be ready by now."

There were few hobbies that Yui enjoyed. Flower pressing and collecting were one of them. She could fondly remember her dad showing her and her sister the many varieties that he had collected on his own. Mao's interest waned over the years so it was left to Yui to keep adding to their father's collection after he had disappeared. It was one of the ways that it kept him alive in their memories.

Nodding happily, Yui turned turned and ventured into the living room. In the middle of the coffee table was a small press, firmly shut with bolts, iron free of course. Smiling softly, Yui unscrewed the bolts and carefully lifted the top panel, revealing a couple of sheets of damp blotting paper. Taking one corner of the paper between her thumb and index finger, she peeled it away. Underneath was the most unique flower she had ever seen before. Even though it was pressed flat, it still retained every bit of its flashy but beautiful colors as yesterday when she picked it. One that, as Kurama told her, normally didn't grow in the human realm.

Its petals were a magnificent shade of magenta edged with purple and yellow along their soft tips. The stem, once fairly thick and bushy, had been cut slim and fuzzy. The leaves were the most intriguing aspect of the flower. They connected at the base of the flower and resembled red, elongated maple leaves that curled around the flower itself, making it resemble a heart. On the tip of each leaf grew a tiny thorn glowing pink in color. It didn't literally glow, but the brilliance was pretty close.

Yui had found them on the second day of her training. Genkai had given her a break so Kurama could help her apply the salve to her scars. Yui did everything in her power not to blush. It was so humiliating and embarrassing to not only see her bare back, but to touch it as well. The salve made her hiss, bite her tongue, and flinch away. Kurama was patient, patient as a saint. Unconsciously, Yui would flinch away and squirm. In other words, she acted a bit like a child getting her medicine. It burned and itch at first, but after several minutes her skin would cool down. Relief would was over her. Kurama sat beside her her and looked away as Yui pulled her shirt back on. She noticed a patch of those flowers on the edge of the forest. She grew quiet in the conversation they were having, about what Yui had already forgotten, so Kurama, too, turned to follow the direction of her gaze.

"How odd," he said as they approached the flower patch, "Hatotorapus usually don't grow in the Ningenkai." Kurama crouched over the flower, his eyes sparkling fondly.

Hesitating slightly, Yui did the same.

"Hatotorapu?" She asked, her head unconsciously tilting to the side.

"Yes," Kurama's eyes shifted to hers, "It's one of the more domesticated flowers that grow in the Makai. Usually used in medicine or turned into good luck charms and perfumes. They're quite popular with young women."

"What kind of luck?"

Kurama chuckled at her question making her look insulted that he dared to laugh at her question. His eyes were shining with genuine mirth.

"Often times they are used a love charm. Surprisingly though when used as a perfume, it promotes fertility. Many women use this flower in perfumes or charms to show they're of age and looking for a mate or a husband."

Yui's pale skin turned bright red and she fell backwards from the sudden head rush. Kurama looked torn between laughing at her or helping her. Fortunately, he took the latter course of action, though she made it difficult seeing how she curled up into a tight ball in an attempt to hide her face. However, he managed, his shoulders shaking with well hidden laughter.

"Do they have any kind of specific meaning?" She asked once she calmed down.

"Not really. Humans are far more romantic than demons. In the Makai, a plant's name is derived from their appearance or usage. In this case, it was named long before it had any true value, so it was named Hatotorappu for its appearance."

"It's very pretty." Yui commented, gently touched one flower's petals.

Kurama made a small noise in agreement and they continued to observe the flower in comfortable silence.

"The forest is full of them."

Yui jumped at Genkai's voice and once again fell over, embarrassing herself all over. Kurama had less luck in containing himself, laughing out loud as he helped Yui to her feet.

"The demon that once lived here a few centuries ago planted them. Apparently it made her feel at home. They're more like weeds than flowers."

Lighting a cigarette, Genkai informed Yui that her break was over and they returned to work. Later, Yui received permission to take as many of the flowers as she wanted. Genkai was more than happy be rid of some of those flowers. Despite how tired she was, she managed to stay away long enough to pull out her old press, a gift from her mom on her tenth birthday. Now, here she was looking the final pressed form of that same flower.

Happy with the results, Yui removed the flower and glued it to a piece of plain, light pink card stock and put it on the windowsill to dry in the sun. By the time she returned, it would be ready to join her collection of bookmarks. All that was left was to have it laminated.

"Mao, breakfast!" Her mother's voice snapped Yui out of her day dream and she hurried to clean up. She already heard Mao's groggy voice as she replied to her mother, no doubt rushing to get ready. Apparently, not everything changed about Mao.

"Yui, could you finish up in there?"

Yui nods though her mother couldn't see her and puts away the press in the entertainment system that served more as a storage cabinet for all of the house's odds and ends that had no specific place but couldn't be put in the attic because of their importance. Somehow she and Mao were able to arrive in the kitchen in near perfect sync.

"Good morning," they both greeted each other. Mao giggled at the strange coincidence.

"You look nice," Yui commented as she passed the rice across the table, and it was true.

Mao's hair was pulled into a pony-tail, her bangs framing her face. She wore a crimson sundress opaque white tights. Around her neck was a red lace choker to match her dress. In her ears, Mao wore a pair of pearl earrings. They weren't real pearls but they looked close enough to the real thing. All in all a very simple yet attractive outfit.

"Thanks! You too," Mao's smile was blinding.

"What am I? Chopped liver?" Their mother joked.

"No! You look nice too, Mom!" Mao's panicked reaction made both her mother sister break out in laughter.

"Oh, please," Mrs. Kagami laughed. "It's fine. I don't often get to wear something so casual."

_True_. Yui confirmed. _She usually has to keep up appearances for work. If it wasn't for her requesting this week off, she would never wear that._

Mrs. Kagami a few stray grains of rice from her form fitting green shirt, grumbling how the said grains managed to get caught on the pink rose embroidery decorating the hem. The dark, wavy hair was no longer held tight in a bun or a ponytail. Instead, Mrs. Kagami let it down and only her bangs were pinned back from her face. Her dark boot cut jeans fit to her legs like a second skin, yet were very comfortable. Mrs. Kagami always bragged how both of her girls inherited her athleticism, though neither one of them had seen her do a lot of sports and exercises.

"So movie first, right?" Mao asked, finishing up the last of her food.

"Right," Mrs. Kagami started to clear up the empty dishes as she speaks. "It'll be around lunch time, so we won't bother getting popcorn at the movies. Is that alright?"

"Yeah, it's fine by me." Yui nodded as she helped her mother with the dishes. She didn't like popcorn that much anyway.

"Great. I'll wash, Mao'll dry, and Yui can put away."

The sisters said nothing as they went to their assigned tasks.

After a while watching from the corner of her eye, Mao noticed how Yui would strain to put away the clean plates back in their proper place. She flinched whenever she had to reach up. Yui's face winced when she had to reach up. She would roll her shoulders and stretch her back.

"Yui?" Mao asked as she handed the last dish to her sister. "Are you feeling alright? You haven't said much."

Looking at her sister's worried face, Yui felt the corners of her lips tilt upwards. Once upon a time, Mao wouldn't have even bothered asking, and now, well, it was a bit awkward but she was more than happy.

"I'm sorry. I'm just...sore. The shower helped, but I still have some aches and pain in my back and shoulders from training. The...scars don't help matters either."

Mao smiled, sympathetic to her sister's plight.

"Ladies! Are you coming or what?"

Turning towards the entrance way, Mao grabbed Yui's hand, despite the coldness of it, and pulled her sister behind her.

"Here!" Mao yelled.

Mrs. Kagami started out the door as the two of them made their way to the front door. She waited for them patiently as the girls put on their footwear. Though, it was rather amusing to watch. Mao seemed insistent on keeping hold of Yui's hand, making it more difficult than it had to be.

Yuki looked looked on her daughter with a fond smile. Things seemed to be finally falling into place again. Though, for better or for worse she wasn't really sure. All that mattered was the _now_. And right now, she couldn't be happier seeing her children's renewed bond. However, she did wish that Yui spent less time with that Shuichi boy...

True, he did help save her daughters, but Yuki still wasn't sure if forgiving him was the right path. He had hurt Yui in the first place which led to all this. In retrospect, that may have actually been a good thing. Then again, she had never seen Yui so betrayed before and prayed she would never see that look ever again.

Once the girls finally managed to put on their shoes, which certainly took longer than necessary, they headed down the street and towards the entertainment district, talking and laughing all the way. At the movie theater, while standing in line Yui talked to their mother about her training with Genkai, Mao looked around curiously. Her eyes locked onto the color red, nearly identical to the color of her dress. Clad in a yellow button down shirt and tan slacks, the figure causes her breath to hitch.

"So does she make you do any weight training?" Mrs. Kagami asked politely.

"Not really."

"She should." Her mother scoffed. "You may have my legs, but you've got noodle arms." As if to make a point, she gently took on of Yui's arm and waved it around. "See, thin as a twig. I recommend you do some weights at least.

"Shuichi!" They heard Mao's voice carry across the lobby.

Yui looked around and sure enough, she spotted him. Blood rushed to her face and she looked down. Not long after she spotted him, Mao pulled on her wrist.

"Shuichi!" She calls, waving her free hand as the boy turns at her call. He seemed surprised at first but it disappears quickly before anyone can notice and he waved back with a small smile. She saw him turn and talk to the adult woman next to him. They seemed to agree on something and sit on a nearby bench.

Yui shortly focuses her attention on the same young man. She never really thought they'd meet again outside of school, especially here of all places. He didn't seem to be the kind to go out on a spontaneous whim. And who was the woman next to him? Was it his mother? Butterflies were swarming her stomach now. Her own mother was surprised too. She still didn't know how to feel about the boy, but both of her daughters seem to have been enamored with him, even though Yui would never admit such a thing. She was nowhere near as boy-crazy as her sister.

_Maybe just one more chance_. Mrs. Kagami thought as she purchased the tickets and hands out the tickets. _But may the gods help him if he hurts either one of them again_. The trio made their way over to the duo. Mao enthusiastically dragged Yui all the way.

"Hello Mao, Yui." Kurama stood as the girls approach, stifling himself watching Yui haunch over in an attempt to catch her breath.

"Evening Shuichi," Mrs. Kagami forced a smile, eying the boy as she joined her daughters. "I didn't think I'd see you here today."

He smiled at Mrs. Kagami.

"Yes, Mother has been waiting to see a movie but was hesitant to go alone. I offered to join her." His mother hands land on his shoulders, gently as he speaks.

"He was rather insistent on the matter even after I told I would be fine waiting." She smiled at her son before turning her attention to the three of them. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't know much about my son's friends...Do you two go to school with Shuichi?"

"Yes," Yui answered.

"We're in the same class." Mao nodded in agreement.

Mrs. Kagami rolled her eyes. "Great, now they're starting _that_ again."

"Pardon." Mrs. Minamino asked.

"Do you have other children or maybe even twins, Mrs. Minamino?" Mrs. Kagami asked. She had a smile that reminded Kurama of the one Yui had on her face that one night in the strange pub.

"No," the other woman answered politely. "Shuichi is my only child."

"Consider yourself." Mrs. Kagami laughed bitterly. She gestured with her thumb towards Yui and Mao. "When these two were younger, they finished each others sentences all day long. It drove me batty."

"Mom!" The girls blushed.

Mrs. Minamino seemed to find it funny though, and laughed behind her hand.

"What movie are you seeing, Mrs. Minamino?" Asked Mao, once her embarrassment subsided.

"A foreign film, _Letters to Juliet_. My co-workers loved the film and recommended to me."

"We're seeing that too!" Mao all but squealed.

Yui, on the other hand, couldn't help sigh. The movie wasn't exactly something she wanted to see. She had no problem with romances, but there was something unrealistic about this one and it did not favor well with her because of that.

"Oh dear." Mao's celebration was cut short when her mother slapped her hand on her forehead. "Was that the one you wanted to see, Mao? I'm sorry. I seemed to have gotten the wrong tickets."

"Can't you exchange them?" Yui's brows furrow. It wasn't like their mother to overlook something like this.

"I'm afraid not," Mrs. Kagami groaned. "The movie's sold out."

"No..." Mao's face turned heart broken, and grabbed Yui's hand for comfort.

Yui honestly found it just a little silly for Mao to be so worked up about something trivial.

"If you don't mind accompanying my mother, I wouldn't mind trading with you, Mao." Kurama smiled at the saddened girl and slowly she smiled too.

"Well..." She drawls. "Okay, but only if it's alright you, Mrs. Minamino."

"I would be delighted." Mrs. Minamino smiled at the two teens swapped tickets. Mao waved good-bye to her family and headed to find some seats with Mrs. Minamino in tow.

After a moment, Yui curiously looked at the ticket in her hand.

"Mom?" She asked, her voice starting to shake.

"Yes dear?"

"Did you even look at what you purchased?"

Kurama looked at Yui, eyes alight and a small grin on his face.

"No, but...Oh.." Mrs. Kagami trailed off looking at the ticket in hand. "Well it can't be that bad."

"Actually, Yusuke went to see it with Kuwabara. I was told that what was shown in the commercials were the boring parts."

"Splendid," Yui hissed as her already pale skin whitened, if that was even possible.

"Well, you don't have to watch it if you–"

"No!" Yui interrupted her mother. "I mean, no...You already paid. And after all...what's life without a little thrill."

"Oh, alright," Mrs. Kagami said hesitantly and led them to the show room.

"Don't worry, Yui," Kurama whispered in Yui's ear as they entered the dim room while her mother wasn't looking. "I'll save you from the monsters."

Yui pouted and slapped his chest as he laughed at her.

"Don't worry, Yui." Her mother spoke softly rubbing her hand along Yui's taught fist. "It's just pretend."

Yui deadpanned her mother, not particularly happy with being talked to like she was a child again. Behind her, Kurama tried to hide his obvious amusement. They managed to find seats in the middle row close to the left side. Kurama sat on the outside with Yui in the middle.

Before Yui could reply, the lights dimmed all the way down and the movie started.

During the whole ordeal, Yui mentally cursed to herself to calm her nerves. At one point, she latched onto Kurama's arm and forgot to let go. The only comfort she had was that she wasn't the only who was freaking out. Several other patrons were also clutching onto to one another, worse yet some of them were jumping out of their seats and screaming as the devilish, blood-sucking monsters came closer to protagonists for the kill. By the time it was over, Yui decided she would never let her mother purchase any more movie tickets. It was bad for her health.

"Well that was–" Yui's mother didn't even bother finishing when her daughter threw her an icy glare. "I mean, let's go meet the others." And she left to go find them.

"Yui, you do realize that the movie is over, yes?" Kurama asked, glancing down at the girl.

"Of course," she responded. Her voice was slowly regaining its stability.

"Then do you plan to releasing my arm?"

Yui felt the blood rushing to her skull all too quickly and let go of him immediately. She stood and rushed out of the aisle, with Kurama shortly behind, smiling like a Cheshire cat. It wasn't long before they met the other three in the lobby.

"Did you have fun?" Mao asked but raised her eyebrow at her sister's current condition. She was blushing madly but had a scowl that could be seen a mile away.

Yui only groaned in reply as Kurama continued to smile happily, mockingly even. Shaking her head, Mao managed to wrap her arm around Yui. The parties parted ways, the teenagers promising to meet again the next day.

"Come on, Yui," Mao complained. The three eventually entered the safety of their home where their conversations would be secret. "You've seen worse. It couldn't have been that bad."

"It's not like I've seen an entire combat zone. And those things were mindless!" Yui cried.

Instead of continue complaining, she recalled her flower resting on the windowsill in the living room. Yui went to the window and went to her room to laminate the end result.

"Another flower for you collage?" Mao asked, leaning over Yui's shoulder to see her work. "I thought you ran out of room on your board?"

"I got a new one." Yui answered as she trimmed the edges of her newest addition. "I moved the old board to a different wall and put the new one over my bed."

Mao watched her for a little while longer.

"Well, I'll be in my room until dinner. If you need me, you know where I am."

Yui hummed in agreement and Mao slipped away into her room as she said she would. It wasn't long before Yui too headed to her bedroom, finished creation in hand. Above her headboard was the cork board that was running out of room with colorful flower bookmarks, each marked with the flowers name, its Latin name because she was precise, and the date she received it. Standing on her bed, Yui reached up and added her latest creation. It was one that she knew that would be the most unique of all.

Satisfied, she plopped down onto her bed and closed her eyes. A quick nap couldn't hurt, right?

"_Hello there, little snowflake..."_

_Yui's eyes snapped open. The surroundings were all too familiar. She was in the cave again, arms pulled taut above her head. Only the old woman wasn't there. She could feel him standing behind her so close she could feel his putrid breath against the back of her neck. It was only the two of them and she was standing. _

_He stood against her. The back of her shirt was completely gone. His hot skin could have burned her skin without the need for the iron. Chains rattled in his hand as the other snaked its way to her front. He grabbed her chin and he rested his head on her shoulder. Yui squirmed as best as she could, but she knew she couldn't get away. His large hand held her head place while he whispered against her ear. _

"_I enjoyed the sounds that you made. I want to hear them again." The chains rattled again as he brought it towards her exposed skin. _

_Without warning, the iron chain burned her back before it had barely touched her. Yui whimpered but refused to give him the satisfaction of screaming. She did it once, but she would never do it again. _

"_You can do better than that," he hissed, dissatisfied with the results. _

_The chains were pressed more firmly against the base of her spine. Yui groaned. He pressed the iron harder into her skin. A tortured gasp left her, but she wouldn't cave so easily again. The chains were dragged slowly across her skin. This time she couldn't help it. The screams left her before she could stop them. He laughed, darkly chuckled against her throat as he sniffed her jugular. Yui felt his chest rumble with a pleased growl, then felt his tongue against her throat. She was caught between a gasp and a scream while he dragged the chain against her back and his tongue down and along her throat. _

"_Do it again," he commanded. "Scream." _

_Yui hated herself. Being brought so low again. She was putty in this demon's hands. She knew what he wanted and she gave it to him anyway. Where had all her strength gone? Where was her will to fight back? _

_His twisted laughter brought her out of her own train of thought. She wasn't even allowed to think on her own. _

"_You make the prettiest noises, snowflake. I want to hear all the sounds that come out of your pretty, white throat." His horrid gray-skinned fingers played with her lips. "Because I intend to keep you around for a very_ long_ time." _

_His hand fell down her front. He ghosted his hand down her throat to the top of her chest and then up again. The chain was pressed against the middle of her back while his other hand glided his hand deftly down, edging closer and closer each time to her breast. _

"_You have an amazing body too. I can't wait to own every piece of it." His hand violently grabbed her chest, fingers splayed out so he could grope as much as he could. _

"Yui!" Mao shook her wake.

Yui, pale, sweaty, and gasping for breath, clung to the first thing she could grab onto, which was her sister.

"Are you alright?"

Yui looked around. She was safe in her room. Mao was there with her. There was no sign of the demon anywhere. He was supposed to be dead. He couldn't hurt her anymore.

Without answering, Yui pulled her sister towards her and buried her face in the crook of her neck. Mao wrapped her arms around her tight, giving her a comforting squeeze.

"Was it a bad dream?" Mao asked, worry marring her face.

Yui couldn't find her voice. Just like every time she had that dream. She could never see him, but she felt him, smelled his breath, hear him laugh and enjoy her pain. She could feel his hand on her chest, groping her. She could feel how the iron, though cold, burned her skin and how hot it made her blood. She nodded without saying a word. Mao climbed unto the bed beside her and they sat together as Yui cried into Mao's shoulder. Mao petted Yui's hair, no longer neatly bound up in a braid and stuffed into a wig cap and wig.

"I'm right here. Nothing's going to get you. Not while I'm around."

The door bell rang. Their mother called.

"You've got a visitor," she didn't sound too pleased.

Mao wiped away Yui's tears and took her hands in hers.

"Let's go see who it is!" Mao gently pulled Yui from the bed and they left to see who it was at the door.

Surprise, surprise, Kurama was standing in the foyer, one arm behind his back. Mrs. Kagami stood nearby, looking irritated. He smiled.

"What are you doing here?" Mao asked. Yui was still recovering from her nightmare.

"When I saw you earlier, I remembered something that I think one of you forgot about." He withdrew his hand from behind him. The dragon medallion was in his hand.

Mrs. Kagami looked surprised, and thoroughly and genuinely so. The price of the sapphire eyes alone would be able to put him through college. Yui immediately brightened up seeing the familiar treasure. She went from Mao and towards Kurama. Taking medallion from him, she gave him a quick hug. Yui had been overcome by such emotion, that she forgot what she was doing. When she came to and realized what she was doing, she immediately let go of him.

"T-thank you. You have no idea what this means to me." She bowed from the waist, clutching the medallion to her heart.

"Try not to _misplace_ it this time." He said jokingly, and said his good-byes.


	10. Chapter 10

Yui woke up the next morning, clutching her father's medallion in her hand, in spite of its sharp edges and rough patterns. Her palm bore the distinct impression of the dragon's teeth. The only way for her to sleep peacefully sometimes was to hold it tight. She told no one about the nightmares she had for the past two weeks. The demon was haunting her. She would wake up in a cold sweat, often shooting right up in bed, gasping for breath. Mao might have been catching onto her. She was much smarter than she gave herself credit for. And if Mao told their mother, Yui would probably end up in a doctor's office, trying to find a way to tell a psychiatrist why she was having nightmares, and the truth was beyond believing. The truth would have the doctor prescribing her medication of schizophrenics, people who were manipulated by their imaginations.

Waking up, stretching, and finally going to her desk, Yui put the medallion back in its place. Funny thing was, she didn't remember getting up and fetching it out of the drawer in the first place. She shrugged before going through her morning routine for school. Knee-length black socks, her uniform, and brushed her hair before tying back to make room for the wig cap. She was just finished with adjusting her long black wig when she spotted her faux leather gloves still sitting on the desk. A small smirk crossed her face. She had forgotten her gloves and nothing bad happened. Out of habit, Yui picked them up.

In the past week, Yui experimented. She would wear the gloves only some of the time at school. However, she never dared before to refuse to wear them at all. Admittedly, it made her feel nauseated just thinking about it. On one hand, it shouldn't have bothered her what others thought of her appearance and they not have noticed one small detail about her looks. On the other hand, the gloves weren't actually a _small_ detail. They were her signature. Somebody was bound to notice.

_Why should you care about what other people think? _It was Genkai's gruff voice in her head. _If you're half as strong as you want to be, start acting like it!_

The woman made a valid point, but then again this wasn't about mere appearances. They helped her keep control. Then again, yesterday was a perfect example of what she could do without them. She lived through an entire monster movie and not once she did panic and cause a miniature ice storm inside the theater.

Her cheeks turned bright red. Just thinking about the movies yesterday made her think of _him_. She was more observant than he thought she was. Kurama was purposely making fun of her, in a very subtle way of course, but she caught onto what he was doing. He seemed like he was enjoying himself too much. Despite her general good nature, Yui wanted to get at him somehow. Not necessarily anything too drastic, just take him down a peg, or two. She could only think about that stupid, arrogant smirk on his face. She could imagine that petty laugh in her ear as he chuckled with amusement her irrational fear of movie monsters.

She had been thinking of ways to humiliate him when Mao knocked on her bedroom door. Mao quickly wrapped her arms around her. Yui, not expecting the sudden display of affection, was half startled, as she had been wandering within the confines of her brain, and half confused.

"How'd you sleep?" Mao really was onto her.

"Fine. Why do you ask?" She escaped Mao's deadly hug attack.

Mao shrugged. "I don't know. Just wanted to make sure you were sleeping alright."

"I sleep just fine." Yui started making her way out of her bedroom.

"There's no need to get defensive." Mao followed not far, closing the door behind her.

"I'm _not_ getting defensive," Yui said without even turning towards her sister.

"It sure sounds like it," Mao mumbled.

Mrs. Kagami, oddly enough, was in the kitchen, dressed in a dark gray suit and a frilly pink apron. Her hair was bound up in a bun, hairpins putting her bangs away from her face so seeing what she was cooking made it that much easier.

"Good morning," Mrs. Kagami was focused on her work.

"Morning!" The two said simultaneously.

Their mother sighed heavily. The level annoyance was high.

"I hate to say it but I almost miss when you two barely talked to each other. Now I remember why having twins was the worst decision of my life!" Of course, she joked. She didn't really mean it. Not completely. She handed each girl a bento box. "There's shrimp and rice in your lunch, Mao, and vegetarian sushi in yours, Yui. Better get going unless you want to be late!"

With more leisure than hurry, the girls stepped into their shoes and headed out the door, hand in hand. It was still highly unusual for them to be seen so close. Their classmates largely assumed that the sisters were estranged. Mao was the popular one, that much was known to be true. Perhaps not always the smartest girl, but she had charisma, leadership skills, and a great athlete. Yui on the other hand was a recluse, thin, pale, ghostly, and was very intelligent. Sadly, there were those who you could say were jealous of her intellect yet she didn't boast about it like a normal teenager. They also seemed to noticed her invisible aura. Without knowing the exact reason for this, they had already labeled her as the 'weird girl,' the one that would make everyone who associated with a social pariah too. But here Mao was, willingly talking to her and holding her hand.

Yui didn't know if her sister was aware of the changes going on around them at school. Mao seemed utterly and blissfully unaware of the change in personality their classmates underwent over the course of just two weeks. They parted before them like the Red Sea, but Mao remained oblivious. Yui knew that her sister was smarter than Mao herself believed. It couldn't be that she wasn't aware of what was going on around her. She could be very observant when she wanted to be. It made Yui wonder if the smile on Mao's face was authentic or if it was just a brave front she put up for her.

They changed shoes, resumed holding their hands like some sort of unbreakable chain, and continued chatting with each other like there was nobody else in the world. Mao parted on uneasy terms. They went to their separate homes. Mao with her English 101 and Yui in her advanced algebra.

"Good morning, Miss Kagami," Mr. Kimura had noticed the changes in Yui, mainly her missing gloves. Some would suspect that he was obsessed, but it wasn't anything like that. Honest. He saw something in Yui that she wasn't confident enough to admit to herself. He saw that in her test scores. He knew that she was missing those problems on purpose. It was only a matter of proving it.

"Good morning, Mr. Kimura," Yui sat down in her seat.

Not long after the homework was passed to the front, a knock came on the classroom door. Mr. Kimura answered it and the principle walked right in with a male student in tow. Yui hadn't looked up from her planner to see him at first. Her pencil froze in her hand when she sensed him walk in. Funny thing about her training, she was able to sense things she hadn't before, or at least what Genkai said, things that she refused to sense.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything, Kimura." Mr. Hasegawa said in a jovial manner.

"Not at all. We hadn't even started the lesson yet. Who is this?" Mr. Kimura gestured to the young man standing dutifully behind the principle.

"I was just showing this new student around the school. He's been assigned to your class, Kimura." He turned to the new student. "Young man, if you don't mind introducing yourself to the class."

He walked around the principle. That's when Yui raised her head. Their eyes met just briefly, just long enough for Yui's heart to start beating loudly against her ribs.

The young man was unusually tall by Japanese standards, lanky but somehow perfectly fit. Possibly foreign with his sharp blue eyes. His hair was black, which was a striking feature against his clear, fair skin.

Heat rose in Yui's cheeks. It started with the center of her chest, and then climbed its way up her neck, cheeks, and finally to the top of her head. She wanted to sink into her chair and pretend she didn't exist. Her palms suddenly felt wet and clammy. Her mouth went dry for no reason.

The young man looked like he didn't want to be there. His gaze sometimes gazed at his feet instead of politely looking at the students in front of him. He shoved his hand into his pockets and kicked an imaginary pebble.

"There's no need to be shy, son. Go on, introduce yourself." Mr. Hasegawa insisted, giving the boy a gentle shove.

The young man cleared his throat. "My name's Ryuunosuke Maruyama and I'm from Kyoto. I-I don't know what else to say, really."

Without another word, he started down the aisles of desks, cheeks flushed with color though he tried to hide it. Yui bent her head low until her forehead was almost touching her desk. Her heart was in her throat. The blood was throbbing in her ears. Her heart rate was skyrocketing and it grew louder as Ryuunosuke grew closer. He just had to have picked her aisle to walk down, didn't he? Her body felt like it was going to die, to have her heart explode with all of its red gore spraying everywhere. She swallowed hard, unable to control the strange sensations pulsating through her body. Her heart was beating so quickly and her stomach felt like it was made out of air. Her face and her brain felt like they were on fire.

Ryuunosuke didn't give her a second look. He walked right past her and all the way to the only empty desk in the back row. Yui hadn't realized that she had been holding onto her breath until she sighed with relief. The class turned to look at the new kid and whispered amongst themselves before the teacher instantly quieted them. Mr. Hasegawa let Mr. Kimura to his own devices. To her surprise, Yui found it difficult to pay attention, and that had never been a problem for her. She was a studious and focused person, but today her mind seemed to wander and she have never been a daydreamer either. This whole situation was making her uncomfortable. Her legs were shaking uncontrollably and she couldn't keep down the sour bile building in her throat.

Her hand shot in the air as well as half her body.

"Kagami, is there something wrong?" Asked Mr. Kimura, turned from his notebook.

"M-may I be excused for a minute. I-I-I suddenly don't feel so well." Yui couldn't control the tremors stemming from the pit in her stomach all the way up her arm.

"Is it an emergency?"

Yui nodded.

Mr. Kimura saw how red she was and how she looked like she going to be physically sick.

"You're ex..."

He didn't have time to finish before Yui shot out of her desk like a rocket and ran out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

Yui ran for the nearest girls room. Classes just started, so it was empty. She ran for the closest stall, opened it wide, and threw herself in front of the porcelain throne. From there she made most copious offerings of her breakfast into the vessel, barely remembering to keep her hair out of the way as she vomited.

His blue eyes flashed inside her mind as she dumped the contents of her stomach into the toilet. There was something about him, something that made her so nervous that all she could think about was him and becoming so nervous that she threw up. To be perfectly honest, Yui never experienced love outside the familial kind. She knew motherly, fatherly, and sisterly, and was aware that people were love with those who weren't members of their own family. She was naive to believe that the feelings of love would never affect her. Did she think that she would never know what it was like to have a boyfriend? To be held by a man, to be _kissed_? Mao talked about it, but Yui didn't understand why people went through all of the trouble of dating and courting if most relationships didn't end up the way you wanted them to. What was the point of having your heart broken like that, repeatedly for the sake of finding that _one_ person in a very large, vast ocean of potential husbands or wives?

His blue eyes seemed to have pierced straight into her soul, her very being. With one brief glance, Ryuunosuke Murayama had turned Yui's insides into mush. Her lungs were about to give way. There wasn't enough oxygen in the world to keep them going. As illogical as courtship and dating and love and all that other stuff Mao talked about may have sounded, there was no denying that Yui was feeling for the first time the physiological signs of attraction to someone of the opposite sex. In her special case, the signs were amplified by a hundredfold, all because she spent so much time repressing that kind of emotion towards men. It hit her like a ton of bricks. There was no cure for this.

However, as much as she wanted to hide in the bathroom until school was over, or the end of the world, which ever came first, Yui had certain principles to stick to and skipping class because of a boy wasn't going to be her excuse for breaking them. She wiped her mouth off with a piece of toilet paper she tore from the dispenser, tossed it into the bowl, and flushed. Yui made her way slowly and uneasily back to the classroom. She walked with her head held low and stared at the floor even as she walked. Yui returned to her seat and tried to pretend nothing was wrong.

All through the class, she could feel him staring at her. His blue eyes were glued to the back of her head. Yui wanted more than anything to turn even just a little bit over her shoulder to see if he was actually looking at her, but proved to be too cowardly. Even if he was looking at her, Yui didn't want to know if he was. She did, but she didn't. She didn't want it to be confirmed. If she did look and his eyes were on her, Yui didn't doubt that she would be sick all over again. She thought it best to just let it be. Class would be over soon enough, right? No need to get worked up over a boy. This sort of thing was normal for teenage girls anyway. Perfectly normal.

* * *

"Put your back into, girl! You're not trying hard enough!"

Yui failed to see how pushing a boulder across a barren field was supposed to teach her control. Unfortunately for her, her strength lied mostly in her legs, not her arms. Her upper body strength was not up to Genkai's standards. Rumor had it that she was lucky. There were worse things the cranky old woman could make her do for training.

"I'm trying," Yui grunted as she pushed her body to its limits. Her teeth ground against each other, threatening to break.

"Obviously you're not trying hard enough! I can barely see you sweat, you overgrown lizard."

The humiliation, the degradation, if Yui wasn't such a nice person, she would probably do something about Genkai's method of training. Training and doing chores to make up for the ruined fire wood was one thing, name calling was something else entirely. She got enough of that at school, she didn't need it here, not when she was trying so hard to get control of her powers.

Genkai's harsh words spurred Yui on. She'd rather not be humiliated by some woman, even if she was being nice enough to train her. Genkai didn't have to do anything for her. She was taking time and effort to actually help. She could have made Yui chop up some trees for firewood and be done with it. No, she was doing her best to teach her control. The less she complained, the more work she put into training, the less Genkai insulted her. It was a method that seemed to work very well.

The boulder was moving easier now. Whether it was because Yui had been developing super strength or she was just so angry over the insults, the boulder moved.

"Almost there," Yui gritted through her teeth.

In a sudden burst of energy, Yui forced the giant rock where Genkai designated with a red flag. With a great sigh, Yui let herself fall to the grassy ground and roll onto her stomach. Her heart was racing, her blood pumping, and sweat glistened on her forehead. Genkai's shadow soon appeared next to her head. Resting on her elbows, she gave the old woman a weak smile.

"How was that?"

The old woman took a puff from her cigarette and looked at the girl's handiwork.

"Your upper body strength needs some work. I realize that ice dragons get hot quicker than other demons but it shouldn't have taken you that long to move one rock from one end of a field to the other."

Yui felt her brow twitch with irritation.

"But I think that's enough for today. What we need to work on now is the interior."

"'Interior?'" Confused, Yui asked.

With a curt nod, Genkai continued. "Control is both a physical and emotional action, therefore two parts to learn. In terms of physicality, I'm more comfortable with where you are than what you were like a few weeks ago. However," she took a long drag from her cigarette, nearly burning it to the end. "Emotionally and spiritually, you're stunted. Every two steps you take, you end up taking one step back. You've come to terms with what you are and now your sister has accepted for what you are. You no longer have the pressure of keeping a secret from her. On the other hand, there's something else you're not willing to accept."

Yui rose to her feet, placing her hands on her knees and tried to catch her breath.

"And what's that?"

Genkai didn't say anything for a long time. The wind was brushing through the long grass. The trees of the forest in the distant rustled, shivered. Already some of the leaves were starting to change colors. Genkai finished her cigarette and threw the spent end to the ground, stamping out the tiny ember with the back of her heel.

"How old do you think I am?"

Yui didn't know how to answer. It would be rude to answer with a number too high but then again this was Genkai. The likelihood that she cared how old people thought she was most likely nonexistent.

"70's, I guess."

"Do you think I'm dumb?" Genkai's voice was growing meaner and harsher. What game was she playing?

"Not at all."

"Then how long do you think you can cover up your trauma?"

Yui felt the color in her cheeks drain. She bent her head down and tried to pretend that she was still trying to catch her breath. It would have been easier to hide her face with her hair but it had been bound up in a tight braid.

"You nearly died that day, and you dare to tell me that you didn't come back a little scarred?" There was no playful sarcasm in her voice and this was no passive aggressive training. Genkai was angry and insulted.

"I-I don't know what you mean."

"Don't you dare lie!"

Yui flinched when Genkai raised her voice at her.

"I've seen the dark circles under your eyes, how you snap awake from your naps after training, how you look over shoulders like you're expecting somebody to jump out of the shadows. Something got into you two weeks ago. You're afraid of being alone. You try to make excuses to stay a little while longer and refuse to leave unless somebody's there to walk you to the bus stop. As long as you keep it all bottled up, you're not going to move forward."

Without realizing it, icy tears dropped to the ground and turned the blades of grass into tiny pins. Yui didn't expect anything less from Genkai.

"D-don't make me talk about it, please. I can't, I can't bring myself to relive it." Yui's shoulders were shaking violently. She felt _his_ hands on her, the iron burning her skin, that voice in her head. Her own hand went to touch the scars on her back.

"You do know that he can't hurt you anymore? He's dead, thanks to that half wit."

Yui swallowed hard and sank to her knees. "I-I know. It's just too...painful. It's like I can still feel him...on top of my skin. Sometimes I just want to take my nails and scrap him off..."

Genkai's hand made sharp contact with her cheek.

"What was that for?" Yui cradled her cheek.

"I don't want to hear anything about self-harm coming from your mouth, do you hear that, Lizard?"

Yui had calmed down. She had greatly improved. Her emotional outbursts no longer came with miniature blizzards. Still, there was a lot of work to be done. Yui didn't particularly respond well to negative reinforcements like Yusuke did, but slapping her across the face just once didn't hurt either. Genkai had seen many of the signs before. Nobody could get the girl to talk. Her sister was more willing, but they didn't have the same experiences. On her body, Yui bore the classic signs of torture and judging by her behavior something else too. There was no easy way to confirm what happened. Genkai could only make a few dreadful guesses. Yui practically implied it. Genkai wondered if the girl would ever be brave enough to admit what happened to her.

"That's all for today," the old woman helped her up.

"Really?" Yui eventually let go of her cheek.

"But first, it's time to do some chores."

* * *

"You don't have to walk me to Genkai's, you know? I'm perfectly capable of going there by myself." Mao made the trek up the incredibly ridiculous flight of stairs to entrance of the temple.

Somewhere far away, a crow croaked. The trees seemed restless. They shivered and shook in the wind as if in preparation for autumn, and then later winter. Green leaves were starting to turn red, yellow, and orange. Some were way ahead of the others, sprouting golden leaves as bright as a burning torch in the night.

Kuwabara and Yusuke were behind her, followed by Kurama behind them.

"Right,"Yusuke drawled, "Because the last time you walked anywhere alone, you were perfectly fine."

Mao stopped mid-way up the step she was on and glared at him from over her shoulder.

"Sarcasm is most unbecoming of you, Urameshi." She turned quickly with a pout and climbed up the rest of the way by herself.

It took them a while to reach the top. Yusuke went ahead opened the gate, holding it open for Mao.

"After you, Princess."

With her nose in the air, Mao sauntered in front of him.

"Bite me."

"Rather not."

They made their way through the temple, all the way to back. They heard the sounds of agonized grunting, which could only mean one of two things. Two people in the party already had perverted minds and uncontrollable hormones, so naturally they silently came up with the wrong conclusion first. Making their way further, the back door was left open and they continued to follow the sounds.

Yui was hard at work, chopping up blocks of wood. At first it was awkward and a touch uncomfortable seeing her like that. After a few moments, it felt more like watching a movie.

Yui wasn't as pale as she had been. Being out in the sun during her training had given her skin a healthier glow. Granted she was still quite pale, but not as pale as beforehand. Her clothes were clinging to her form because of the sweat. Her newly developed muscles moved with a grace that a person could only be born with. Her feminine brows were drawn together. She looked like she was struggling but remained strong. There was also something about how a few strands of her white hair moving out of place and sticking to her forehead. There was something so incredibly attractive about it. And when she paused in her work to move the stray hairs from her face, at least two people in the vicinity were about to have nose bleeds.

That is until Mao punched them both in the stomach.

"That's my sister you're staring at!"

Yui finally looked over in their direction. Smiling sweetly, she wiped the sweat from her face. The ax was dug into the stump where she would leave it be for now.

"Did you say something, Mao?" She asked, completely oblivious how sexy she had been acting two seconds ago, even unconsciously.

"What? Me? No, you must be hearing things." She tried to laugh it off.

"Yeah right," Yusuke grumbled as he held his stomach.

Mao smacked him upside the head. "How's the training coming along?"

"I suppose it's doing well. Why are Kuwabara and Yusuke huddled over their stomachs?" Yui answered and then pointed at the two boys, clearly in pain. Mao may have been small, but she still very strong.

"Oh, nothing. I think it was something they ate," she looped her arm around Yui's shoulder. "How about we go inside and have a cup of tea."

When they were out of earshot, Yusuke and Kuwabara fell to the ground still clutching their stomachs.

"What the hell? For somebody so small, she can really pack a punch," Yusuke groaned.

"I'll say."

Kurama chuckled, shaking his head. "Maybe from now on you shouldn't stare like that at her sister."

Yusuke quickly shook off the pain and sat up, leaning against his arms.

"Like you're one to talk." He grumbled.

"Pardon?"

"She's like a female version of you. She even talks like you half the time."

"I fail to understand your point, Yusuke."

Kuwabara sat up too. "Anybody with eyes can see you're practically meant for each other."

"You're both smart, you talk funny, and you have absolutely no interest in human events. You're both pretty indifferent to the world around you and you both have human families you want to care of." Yusuke thought he made some darn good arguments.

Kurama sighed. "Even so, a few commonalities doesn't quite make a relationship. Besides, I'm not looking to be in one. As of right now, I'm perfectly fine by myself."

Yusuke shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever you say."

* * *

"Mao, can I have a word with you?" Genkai surprised Mao by walking almost out of thin air.

She nearly dropped the tea set.

"Don't scare me like that! Ninjas make more noise than you!"

"I need to speak with you, alone."

"What about?" Mao relaxed.

"Your sister."

Mao nodded. She went into the living room quickly and set down the tea set on the low table.

"I'll be right back," she said to Yui. "I just need to use the bathroom real quick."

"Alright," Yui started to pour the tea for herself and the others.

Mao carefully shut the shoji door behind her. She sneaked away as best she could and followed Genkai to an empty room.

"Shut the door," Genkai took a seat in a chair.

Mao turned and did as she was told. Turning again, she asked, "Is there something wrong with my sister?"

"Have you noticed anything strange going on with her?"

Mao thought her eyes widened. Her brows formed a V-shape as she went into deep thought. She was looking at her feet while she remembered all of the odd things Yui had picked up over the past couple of weeks.

"Now that you mention it," she raised her head. "Yui's been on the defensive lately. Like this morning when I asked her how she slept, she got all prickly about it. And just the other night, after I got up to use the bathroom, I thought I heard her crying in her sleep. I'm usually the one who's a night owl but lately I think Yui has been staying up later than she did before. Have you noticed anything else?"

Genkai nodded. "Does she like to be alone?"

Mao shook her head. "Not any more. Sometimes she freaks out if she's left alone for too long. A few days ago she left me over a dozen messages on the phone when I didn't come home right after school because I was being held back at a study session at school."

"Does she get scared easily?"

"What do you mean?"

"Does she act paranoid?"

"A little more than usual."

There was a brief moment of silence.

"I think your sister may need to see a doctor. A psychologist preferably. At the very least, somebody to talk to."

"What for?"

"Whatever happened to her that night is holding her back from realizing her full potential. Her scars are healing quickly, but there are those that cannot heal properly and will leave an infection of the worst kind." She lit a cigarette and took a long drag. "I have some suspicions that your sister was not only tortured, but was abused in another way."

Mao's blood went cold. "In what kind of way?" Her body was shuddering for some reason. Did she really want to know the answer?

"There's no easy way for me to say it. During training, I told her that I knew that something was wrong with her and that something was holding her back. She became upset and implied what happened to her that night." She took another long drag. This situation made the tough Genkai very uncomfortable; it wasn't something she was used to.

Mao swallowed hard before asking her next question. "What did she say?"

Genkai sighed heavily, "Her exact words were, ' It's like I can still feel him...on top of my skin. Sometimes I just want to take my nails and scrap him off...' I can only assume that she meant scrapping her own skin, i.e self-harm."

So in shock was Mao that she audibly gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth. The news had her knees buckling underneath her until she fell to the floor, shaking. The room felt like it was spinning. Bile rose in her throat but she swallowed it back down.

"Y-you think she was..."Mao couldn't finish that sentence.

"I can't say for certain. I'm not one-hundred per cent sure, but if not she was taken advantage of, that much is certain."

"Do I tell my mom? What will Yui say if she finds out what you believe? What can I do?"

"Yui is still emotionally unstable. We've barely gotten her to stop making snow storms when she's upset. We can't force her to talk about it if she doesn't want to. The best thing we can do for now is to wait for her to talk, willingly. The most important thing you can do for your sister is make sure she doesn't do anything stupid like hurting herself. Keep an eye for that kind of stuff." She took a shorter drag from her cigarette. "Better get back there before she becomes suspicious."

"R-right." Mao managed to get up all on her own. She walked slowly back to the living room, trying to settle things down in her head.

She hesitated outside the door. Her hand trembled as she took hold of the handle to slide it open. Taking a deep breath, Mao opened it and stepped inside.

Yui was busying herself with her cup of tea. She looked so peaceful. Mao couldn't help but stare. After she took a long sip, Yui finally noticed that her sister's gaze was fixed on her.

"Is there something on my face?" She went to pat her cheeks.

"No," Mao smiled. "You look beautiful."


	11. Chapter 11

Heart beating quickly, nausea setting in, palms layered in a fine film of sweat, and last of all her mouth was dry. Yui kept staring downwards, not daring to look up and see him. Ryuunosuke Maruyama, he had no idea how he had effected her. Nor did anyone else, Yui made sure of that. Mao was more interested in her sleeping habits than she was about her behavior at school, especially when the new student was nearby.

"Yui-chan," Kurama's voice was right next to her.

She jumped slightly.

"Don't scare me like that!" Her cheeks had been pink for a while before Kurama sneaked up on her. She was trying to hide it.

"I'm sorry," he chuckled. "I was trying to ask you something."

"W-what is it?"

"I was wondering how you've been feeling lately."

Yui paused before answering. "Why?"

Kurama shook his head as if he had been insulted.

"Never mind," he turned and walked away.

Confused, Yui watched him go until he disappeared in the crowd of students. She turned and Ryuunosuke had also disappeared. She didn't know whether to be disappointed or relieved.

"Yuki-onna!" The familiar and hated nickname rang in her ears.

Some of Mao's former friends were calling her over. They looked annoyed and angry, a bad combination for school bullies. Yui did the only logical thing in this kind of situation. She ignored them. Brushing right past them, she let them stand in the hallway, shouting after her. Quickly ducking into the school library, they wouldn't dare follow her in here.

Yui had one hour of free time. The library was a perfect place to hide and relax. Oddly enough, the librarian wasn't standing behind the desk. She was perfectly alone today. With plenty of time on her hands and the peace and quiet surrounding her, Yui allowed herself to relax and wander around for a bit. Her attentiveness to detail and ability to remember a lot of things at once, she knew the library like the back of her hand. Leaving her bag on a table where she could find it easily, she explored the shelves. The shelves held mostly academic books for research papers. The only recreational books that the library had were tucked away on a smaller shelf near the back. These included a few novels, some random selections of poetry, and a couple volumes of popular manga. However, the books she was really interested lay in art section. The library's collection on architecture was scarce, but what little they had were well-written and the illustrations were beautiful. Sadly, there was one book she liked the most but only for the pictures. It was entirely in French, presumably for the only other second language course the school offered besides English. Pity though, at least she enjoyed the photographs and other illustrations within.

She pulled two volumes from the desired section, and then looked down either end of the shelves. There was no one around. Yui sat down on the floor, careful of her skirt, and put the books at her side. She pried open the first, _ A History of Japan in Architecture_ by Kyoyo Sato. The number of times she read it must have been over a dozen. She could recite almost verbatim if she wanted to. Sato's presentation on pre-feudal architecture was fascinating but his details about the Heinan period had much to be desired. He seemed to have been more interested in pre-feudal era buildings and those of the modern era. Yui read the first two chapters in Sato's book before moving on to the next one. This was the French book that had an incredibly complicated title. It was only resource book that the second language class had to use so it was bent out of shape in many places. The spine received the most damage, having been torn a few times and was held together by many strips of tape. Yui was careful when using it. She held it up to her nose for a good whiff. There was something so good about the smell of an old book. It was euphoric.

"Are you reading anything good?"

Yui was so startled that she threw the book in the direction of the voice. Ryuunosuke was startled too, and it wasn't because of the book flying towards him, which he narrowly dodged. She had yelped so loud that the sound bounced off the walls and was sure to catch the attention of a teacher or the librarian. Yui was so red in the face, she felt dizzy from the heat going to her head too quickly.

"Are you going to be okay?"

Yui vigorously nodded her head. Her tongue was tied up in knots and those same knots could also be found in her stomach, which was churning up whatever pieces of undigested lunch that was left over. Sour bile was rising in her throat.

"You don't look so good. Do you need to go to the nurse?"

Yui tried to stand on her own two feet, but her knees were buckling so much she could barely do it. Ryuunosuke made the mistake in walking over and helping her. He was standing so close. Maybe too close! She felt like her insides were about to make it through to the outside. Her hand was clapped over her mouth.

"I'm just...gonna walk you to the nurse, then. You look a little green." He reached out to touch her shoulder but Yui ran away in the opposite direction.

She ran out of the library, into the hall, and made a dash for the nearest girls room. Yesterday's routine went just as well today. Yui was so overwhelmed by these new sensations and emotions that she threw up. There was no stopping it. All she had to do was think of his name and she felt the urge to run to the nearest bathroom and puke. He was so dashing, and smart, and handsome, and almost all the things she looked for in a guy, if she was looking that is. But she wasn't looking. Why would she be looking? There was no pressure for her to get a boyfriend and then later get married. She still had plenty of time for that. Or, she could choose the path less traveled and not marry at all. What was wrong with being single?

Just as things were finally going her way, plus or minus a few things, he shows up an ruins everything! Yui didn't know if she should be mad or not. All that did was had more fuel to the fire. Emotions were so complicated.

When she was finished, Yui crept out of the bathroom. She had a free period but most of her classmates didn't. They were already in class. She walked quietly past them, hoping not to run into a certain someone.

_Bam_

"Ouch," Yui had been blinded for a moment when she walked right into something solid. When she regained her sight, rubbing her nose, she found Kurama standing in front of her.

She picked herself up and dusted off her skirt.

"We need to stop meeting like this," he whispered, not wanting to disrupt any of the classes.

"Indeed." Was all she could say.

"I would still like to talk to you. If that's alright with you. There's around twenty minutes left before next period."

Yui thought that maybe some fresh air would do her some good.

"Let's go outside then." She led him to the back entrance.

They quietly sneaked through the back and basically loitered on the steps. Yui carefully set herself down on the concrete steps while Kurama remained standing.

"Genkai's been keeping me updated on your progress. Apparently, you're one of her more admirable pupils. You complain less."

Yui shrugged. "I suppose. Are you going to tell me what this is really about?"

"What do you mean?"

She sighed, annoyed. Brows furrowed, Kurama didn't need to guess that she was getting, or was, irritated.

"You're forgetting that I can be just as smart as you. You're trying to beat around the bush, and I don't appreciate that. You're clever, but so am I. What do you really want to know?"

Kurama conceded. He looked stern. "She's also told me that you wake screaming and that you look like you don't get enough sleep at night, which is why you take naps after training."

Yui went silent.

"What happened two weeks ago? We all know that you were tortured, but for what purpose? There are so many pieces that are missing and only you know what they are. I would like to consider you a friend, Yui, and I want to help you, but I can't if you don't let me in." Kurama got closer and sat down next to her.

Yui flinched and tried to creep away. She couldn't get very far. Looping her arms around her legs, she tried to make herself as small as possible.

"Yui, please. For all our sakes..."

"They're dead, aren't they? So what does it matter? I don't want to talk about it." Yui was grinding her teeth and resisting the urge to bite her nails.

"As you can see that they have also left a deep emotional scar on you. You are not a fighter, there's nothing wrong with that..."

"You're right," she interrupted him a second time, "I'm not a fighter. I don't like to fight, I can't even use my powers to defend myself, and when I do it's because I can't control it or it's fluke, a stroke of pure luck. I can't do anything and that's why I'm an easy target. But in this instance, I want to fight my own battles. I want to beat this thing inside on my own. There's nothing you or anyone else can say about it."

He sat there while silence descended after her emotional outburst. There was no surge of energy, no ice or snow on the ground. He was proud that her emotions no longer seemed to play a role in how her powers manifested. At the same time, he was very disappointed and even wounded. Yui may have leveled some of her walls, but that was only because she was rebuilding some other ones. The walls closest to her heart and soul were guarded by giant walls of ice. And for some reason, this made him feel things, unusual things, emotions that made him feel entirely uncomfortable. These included anger, betrayal, and some version of sadness. Living in a human body, he came to understand these things, especially when his human mother allowed herself to be deeply wounded by broken glass in order to protect him. As for other people, there were few that made him feel similar things. He had noticed Yui for a long time, and at first thought nothing much of her. Perhaps a little unusual herself and maybe even a little gloomy with her hunched-over posture and stoic features, but there no emotions until they had accidentally touched. After seeing what she really looked like without her wig, and gloves, and all pretense, she didn't seem so unusual. It would be a lie if he said that he didn't find any attractive qualities in Yui, but he also couldn't bring himself to admit any kind of serious attraction. Hiei pointed out for the past month or so that she had become a distraction.

Kurama had gone out of his way to confront Yui. He was concerned for her emotional well-being as well as her physical. He was beginning to agree that she had indeed become a distraction. She wasn't always on his mind, but she certainly preoccupied a portion of it.

He rose and separated himself from her. He walked to the door, however he turned to look at her over his shoulder. Yui was still huddled up with her face buried in her knees.

"I wish you the best of luck, Yui-chan." He opened the door, slipped back inside, and softly shut the door behind him.

Yui wanted to cry but the only things that came out were senseless blubbering. She stayed like that until the period bell rang. She rushed inside and made a run for the library, suddenly remembering that she left it there the whole time. Yui walked quickly in between the shelves she wandered in. There was no trace of it anywhere. She looked at the clock. She had five minutes before she was late to her next class. Begrudgingly, she left the library and went to class. It was embarrassing not to show up with anything to do work with. No paper, no pen, and if she lost her student I.D card she would get an earful from her mother. She walked to her next, ashamed of herself, only to find her bag sitting on her desk. Ryuunosuke was already sitting in the back, head buried in his arms, resting or hiding his face from her. She couldn't tell.

Yui uneasily slid into her desk chair and opened her bag. She half-expected some kind of mean prank like fake vomit, wouldn't that be ironic? But no. Everything was neat, clean, and where it should be. Except for this yellow note. That wasn't there when she organized her bag this morning. Yui dug it out and unfolded it. She glanced around her. Nobody was paying attention to her and class hadn't started just yet.

_I think you forgot this. Maruyama R._

* * *

Yui kept thinking about Ryuunosuke's note. Rather than throwing it away, she kept it between the pages of her notebook, like a little souvenir. She went through the whole school day with it tucked safely in her notebook, never prying it open and she kept thinking about it long after the final bell rang and she started making her way to the bus which would take her to Genkai's for training.

To the old woman's disappointment, Yui was painfully distracted. Which was why today's training session was unlike their normal routine.

"Alright, I've seen enough. I want you to actually use your powers to create shields on your forearms."

Yui blinked.

"Are you listening? Raise some shields with your ice powers, Lizard! Don't make me repeat myself a second time!"

Yui gulped and hesitated for a second or two in raising her arms. The ice crackled against her skin, crawling up her forearm up to her wrist. It spiked and feathered like dragon scales.

"You ready?"

"N-no."

Genkai charged nonetheless. It was a flurry of feet. For an old woman she moved fast, and for sure Yui felt every kick. Digging her heels into the ground, she tried to keep balance from Genkai's attacks. And then came the punches. This was the point where Yui began to see why the others were so nervous about her training with the old woman. She knew nothing about mercy, not when she was busy trying to take down your defenses and beat you to the ground. There was no point in trying to ignore how bad her arms were shaking now. Combat was not Yui's specialty.

"Hey, cranky old bat, ya busy?" There was only one person who dared to call out Genkai in the middle of a training session.

With one mighty kick Yui barely saw coming, Genkai knocked her to the ground, sending her sprawling. The hard dirt and pebbles scratched her old wounds, possibly reopening them. Pieces of broken ice were scattered everywhere.

"Can't you see I'm a little busy here?" She huffed. Then she turned to Yui laying in the dirt.

"You gonna live?" She asked.

"Y-yeah." Yui weakly replied.

"Good," Genkai grabbed a cigarette from her front pocket it, lit it, and took a long drag from it. She walked off to see what Yusuke wanted.

Yui hissed. The fall definitely opened some of her scars. A shadow fell on top of her as she managed to pull herself up half way and rest some of her weight on her forearms.

"Do you need some help?"

She looked up, becoming very red in the face, and saw Kurama holding out his hand to her. Reluctantly, she took and was quickly sent back on her feet. Perhaps a little too quickly. She moved her shoulders and back the wrong, causing her to cry out audibly. Yui would have fallen back into the dirt if not of Kurama's quick reflexes.

"I-I think some of my scars opened up." Yui spat through gritted teeth.

Fire was rushing up and down her spine as her scars lit up, agitated by the harsh treatment. She felt specks of tiny pebbles sticking deep into the first layer of skin and in some of her scars. Kurama wrapped her arm around her shoulder.

"Let's get you cleaned up." He said and they headed for the temple.

They found an empty room. He instructed her to take a seat on one of the pillows and try to relax before he disappeared to fetch some things. Yui already knew the drill. She waited until he left and shut the door before taking off her shirt. The fabric decided to dangerously cling to her sweaty skin, but that wasn't all that was there. She flipped the shirt over and found tiny red marks approximately where some of her scars used to be. They must have been cut open by the fall and the pebbles sticking to her skin. Her shirt was bunched up in her hands, wringing the life out of it. The door slid open. Yui almost jumped out of her seat, but Kurama spoke softly and calmly.

"It's just me," he announced.

Yui had her shirt bunched around her front. When she saw that it was him, she whipped around. If her cheeks weren't already red, they were really, really red now. He put a box on the floor, mostly likely a first aid kit of some kind. His fingers were very warm and light. Yui did everything in her power to suppress a shiver. He hummed to himself as he noted the damage.

"I need you to take off both tops. I'm sorry."

The heat rushing to her head might have killed her. She nodded slowly.

"C-could you turn around or something?"

"I promise not to look. I'm just looking at your back. That's all, I promise."

Still, it wasn't all that comforting as his voice tried to make it. He may have been there just to see to her wounds, but he was still a young man and she was an innocent, and sometimes naive, young woman. It wasn't in his nature to do things against her will, but there was not guarantee. Slowly, Yui put her hands to her sides, along her ribcage, and grabbed hold of the sports bra she was wearing. To be honest, it was a little refreshing having cool air hit her sweaty skin. However, her embarrassment had her blood boiling to a dangerous level for an ice dragon.

"You've got a few rocks in your scars. That must be what's causing you pain." He fumbled through the first aid kit. "I'll try to be as gentle as possible."

Yui felt his hand on her shoulder. It was light, almost feather weight. He held her steady and give her some small comfort. Every now and then she would glance at his hand to make sure it hadn't turned gray. When satisfied, she went back to clutching her clothes for dear life. Silently she prayed that no one would be able to see them like this. Oh, the humiliation. On top of that, her sister wouldn't let her live it down for an entire month. Yui was still unsure of Mao's feelings towards Kurama. She was unsure of how she felt about him. They were both fairly attached to him, maybe not necessarily on a romantic level, but certainly more attached than before.

She clapped her hand over her mouth when a high-pitched yelp escaped from her. The tweezers gently plucked the pebbles from her scar tissue but it still felt like the outermost layer of her flesh was being pulled off or a new scab was being picked clean.

"Sorry."

"It..it's okay." Yui mumbled.

"What do you think of the new student at school?"

That was a very strange question. Not that the question itself was odd, but coming from Kurama it was. He made it sound so unusual. When did he start wanting to make small talk? Especially when he was picking rocks out of her scars?

"W-what do you mean?"

She glanced over her shoulder in time to see Kurama shrug his shoulders. Yui was grateful he couldn't see how hard she was blushing right now. He wasn't looking at her face. He was focusing on her back.

"I don't know really. I thought that the two of you would get along together."

Her brows furrowed. "What makes you say that?"

"You seem to have similar auras and you're both the quiet type."

"Look who's talking, Mr. Fox Demon. Ouch!"

"Sorry."

"I haven't even spoken to him." Which was technically true. Every time he was close to her, she'd run away and find the nearest girl's room to throw up.

"It couldn't hurt to get to know him."

Yui might have been daydreaming but she could have sworn that there was the slightest hint of bitterness in what he just said.

* * *

"Yui-chan! You ignored us yesterday. That was terribly rude!" Ruka slung her arm around Yui's neck.

"If you don't mind, I would like to get to my next class," she struggled out of the girl's grip.

Another one of Mao's former friends, Miyumi, stepped up to plate and grabbed Yui's arm.

"If you and your sister are getting along, then we should too, don't you think?"

_Something smells rotten in the state of Denmark_, Yui thought.

Pushing the girls off of her was no easy task. Ruka was tall and a member of various sports teams. She was strong and athletic, much like Mao. Miyumi may have been tiny compared to her friends, or to anybody really, but she was still very sneaky, using her low stature and center of gravity, the girl could trip someone very easily. Despite escaping their greedy claws, the two girls followed behind Yui. They were on her tail like bloodhounds who refused to give up the scent. Mao was nowhere in sight. She had found herself in an after school study session again. Kurama wasn't here either. That meant that she had to fend for herself. How hard could it be? They were both just high school students, right?

"You've given me no sign that you ever wanted to be friends with me, and I beg your pardon if I doubt your intentions even more now."

Not long after Yui said that, she felt the back of her skull meet the metal lockers. Her head was throbbing and her ears were ringing. Ruka and Miyumi pinned her arms to her side. Someone walked down the hallway towards them. A girl, the same age as the rest of them, came strolling down, hips swaying back and forth.

She was tall for her age, skinny too. She had a pair of dark, sultry eyes lined with black makeup that made her eyes look like they belonged to a cat. Her dark brown hair was tied close to her left ear and curled to an inch of its life. A pink flower barrette was clipped in her hair on top of the ponytail.

"I've heard so much about you, Yui-chan. I just had to meet you for myself." The girl smiled.

"Who are you?" Yui, surprisingly, wasn't intimidated. She faced much worse than a teenage girl.

"Junko Fusihiada. I knew your sister, and now that she's stepped down from her position, I'm gonna take it for myself."

Yui looked at her confused. "Her position?"

"Ugh, you really don't know how people work, do you?" Junko whined. "Mao was one of the most popular girls here. Emphasis on _was._"

Yui still didn't understand why Junko started to laugh.

"And popularity is important to you?" She asked.

Junko wore a smug look. "Of course it is."

"Seems rather pathetic if you ask me." Yui was by no means trying to be cocky. This was how she honestly felt. "Popularity will only get you so far in life. We are competitive in Japan, but there is only so much good looks and charisma can get you in life. It's petty really."

Junko raised her hand and struck Yui's cheek. The slap resounding against the lockers and all the way down the hall.

"What would somebody like you know?" Junko leered at her.

Comparatively, a slap to the face was nothing to the things Yui had endured over the past couple of weeks. Her cheek still stung, but she could bare it. She took a deep breath. If they were lesser demons, literally speaking, perhaps she could have fought back. As atrocious as they were, and she always figured that Ruka and Miyumi could be easily reeled in by someone such as Junko, using her powers were forbidden here. Not unless somebody knew how to erase their memories.

"I already see right past your little disguise. You try to act that you're better than everybody else by pretending to be some kind of anti-social freak. I can see past that! You get on my last nerves." Junko raised her hand again to slap Yui's other cheek.

Yui closed her eyes and waited for impact. When it never came, she cracked her eyelids open for just a peek. She expected it to be Kurama standing there, restraining Junko's wrist. Sadly, it wasn't him this time. Butterflies were fluttering madly in her stomach. Her cheeks turned beet red. There was a thump in her throat the size of fist.

"That's enough." Ryuunosuke was seething. His body was tense and rigid. The knuckles in his hand were turning white from holding Junko's wrist too tight.

"This has nothing to do with you! Let go!" Junko yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Not until you apologize."

Junko forced her wrist out of his grasp. Once out of range, she made a run for it. Ruka and Miyumi followed.

Yui swallowed hard and turned her gaze quickly to the floor. She didn't give Ryuunosuke a chance to speak to her. Turning away, Yui made haste to nearest exit. Her cheeks were burning now. It felt like the heat was slowly moving its way to her brain and seeping through. He called out to her. He looked at her student handbook that had her ID in it. She ran away as fast as she could. Once outside of the school grounds, she managed to lose him in the crowd near the bus stop. It didn't take her more than a few seconds to hop on board without even thinking and sit herself down in the nearest available seat. The ride to the temple was a slow and awkward one. Fellow passengers kept trying to ask her why face was so red. When she refused to give them an answer, they shook their heads at the rude response and ignored her for the rest of the ride. All she could think about was Ryuunosuke. He made her feel incredibly uncomfortable. The physiological reactions weren't something she was used to, perhaps she would never be used to. Sweaty, clammy palms, buckling knees, and a blush that went from her cheeks to the top of her chest were entirely unpleasant feelings to her. She didn't understand why people looked forward to feeling like this when they see someone off the streets or talk to someone they like. These symptoms weren't something that Yui could ignore. If she wanted to get rid of them, then there was only one thing for her to do.

* * *

Genkai was not happy with the results of her training today, to say the least. Yui was uncharacteristically distracted. Her head was up in the clouds when it was usually closer to the ground. No matter how soft the old woman kicked, the ice shields would break after a few short minutes. Yui's gaze was elsewhere, like she was daydreaming. But that couldn't be right? Yui, daydreaming? That was an oxymoron in and of itself. Yui, the studious, focused, and intelligent school girl, simply did not _daydream_. When would she have time to? Certainly not here, where she was supposed to be training and getting her powers under control and learning how to defend herself.

Genkai kicked away her shields again. Admittedly, she was at least proud that the girl had learned how to stay on her feet after an attack.

"Is there a problem?"

"Uh?" Yui stirred from her daydream.

"You're awfully distracted today. Any particular reason why?" Genkai growled, and then drug out another cigarette to smoke.

"I'm sorry. I've just been preoccupied with something."

"With what?"

Yui's cheeks turned bright red. "It's really embarrassing."

"Does it involve a boy?"

Yui swallowed hard. It frightened her that Genkai could read her so well. The old woman took a long drag from her cigarette before continuing.

"You do realize that you're, what, 15 years old. It's perfectly naturally for you to be a little boy crazy." Her eyes narrowed. "However, it's _unnatural_ for _you_ to have your head in the clouds. Do whatever it takes to get it out of your system, just get it out by next time."

"Next time? Are we done for the day?" Yui wanted more time to think things through. If she saw Mao, her sister would probably wander what happened with her and her former friends. By now, the rumor mill must be working overtime.

Genkai nodded. "That's it. I believe that there's food inside if you want any."

Yui returned to the temple, her mind slowly coming down from the atmosphere. She pried open the living room to find something short of banquet. Her brow arched, she looked around the room. Yusuke and Kuwabara were busy stuffing their faces while Mao seemed to be getting along with Botan very well.

"W-what is this?" Yui asked before entering the room.

"Dinner." Yusuke replied.

"I can see that, but why are you here?" She left the door open.

The smell of food was almost overwhelming. There was some meat like beef and pork, but most of it was rice, vegetables, and tofu. It was obvious who this meal was designed around.

"Free food and they will come," joked Botan.

Yui allowed herself to laugh. Still though, there was something oddly suspicious. Mao must have sensed her sister's uneasiness as she sat down. Mao filled up a plate of Yui's favorite things before she could even move towards any of the food herself. There was a pile of rice, steamed vegetables in teriyaki sauce, and stir fried mushrooms on her plate before Yui had any sense to stop her. There was so much food on her plate that she wasn't sure if she'd be able to eat it all. Mao smiled at her from ear to ear. There was no way Yui could refuse. She settled down to eat. At one end of the table, by Yusuke, there was another half-eaten plate. With the seating arrangement as it was, there was one person who she thought was sitting there. Panic started to settle in. The last thing she needed today would be to sit so close to Kurama.

There were footsteps coming from down the hall. Yui heard her heart beating a little faster. She hoped against hope that no one else could hear it.

"Yusuke, you eat like a pig, you know that?"

Yui could have sighed with relief. It wasn't him. Instead, a spunky brunette took the seat next to Yusuke. She was petite, but she seemed to be able to carry her own weight around. Yui saw in the corner of her eye how Yusuke slightly flinched at the sound of the girl's voice. The girl turned to Yui after she had her chopsticks in her mouth and some rice in the process of chewing.

"I'm sorry. We haven't met before! I'm Keiko."

Yui still wasn't used to be people, especially not ones were being nice. She finished chewing and shook Keiko's hand, slightly. Formalities out of the way, she quickly returned to eating. She watched Keiko out of the corner of her eye. She observed how she talked to Yusuke. It was clear that they had known each other for years and were both comfortable around each other. If she had to be honest with herself, she was jealous of Keiko. Yui had never been in a relationship with someone so intimately except for her family. She guarded herself very well against outsiders, against other people. Keiko had an ability that Yui only wished she had: to be able to talk to people without worrying. It was almost a magical ability all on its own. While everybody else was talking, eating, and generally enjoying themselves, Yui was left to her own devices. She ate and her mind wandered again.

She imagined what it would be like to talk to others so easily, confidently. Then, she imagined just walking up to a certain someone, a certain person with blue eyes not unlike her own. It was true what Kurama said. She and Ryuunosuke had similar auras. She felt...drawn to him. They seemed to fit together like puzzle pieces. Something inside her head clicked when she started to think about him. It was like he was the piece she had been missing. However, she was just fifteen years old. Who was she to talk about missing puzzle pieces and love?

"Hey, Yui?" Mao asked.

Her dreaming came crashing down to earth, breaking into a million pieces.

"Yes?"

"You do realize that you've been pretending to eat from an empty plate for the past ten minutes, right?" Mao pointed with her chopsticks despite the fact that it was considered rude.

Yui looked at her plate. Aside from a few scraps of broccoli and some rice, her plate was empty. Her blush deepened. She set it down in front of her and buried her face in her hands.

"Is there something wrong?" Asked Botan.

"You have been acting strange the last couple of days." Mao hoped that Yui would finally confess about her nightmares.

Everybody stopped eating and waited for Yui to respond. It was several minutes before she raised her head, cheeks fully flushed like two ripe apples and her lips quivering.

"How do you talk to boys?" Her eyes were wide and desperate.

Mao nearly dropped her chopsticks. That wasn't _quite_ what she was expecting but at least she was getting to the bottom of something. But what?

"Excuse me?" Mao hoped that it didn't come off as rude.

Yui went silent again. Her hand moved to her mouth and her fingers to her lips. She pressed her thumb between her teeth and gnawed on her fingernail. Her brows furrowed. There were lines like wrinkles marring her clear forehead.

"T-there is someone that I..." Yui couldn't bring up the 'L-word.' Not in front of her sister. She quickly looked down at the table.

Mao nearly squealed with delight. Yusuke complained about busted eardrums, or something like that. He stuck his fingers in his ears while Mao continued to squeal like an overexcited fangirl. She hopped up from the pillow she was sitting on, ran around the table, and clasped her arms around her sister in a choking hug.

"I'm so happy for you! My sweet baby sister's got her first crush!" Mao gushed on and on until Yusuke interrupted her.

"Wait? I thought you guys were twins." He leaned on the table.

"We are, but Yui took an hour longer than I did to come out. Technically speaking, I'm the older sister." Mao replied.

"And Mom still complains that...

"It took _two days_ to give birth." The twins completed the sentence in unison.

Mao wrapped her arms around Yui that much tighter. "Now you just have to get him to fall in love with you! It shouldn't be too difficult. We just have to work on your smile!"

"What's wrong with my smile?" Yui felt just a little bit insulted.

Mao unwrapped herself from her sister. "Nothing. It's just that..."

"You look grumpy most of the time." Yusuke said what Mao had almost said out loud.

"What?" Now Yui felt really insulted. "What do you mean I look grumpy?"

Yusuke popped a piece of beef into his mouth, and answered with his mouth full.

"I mean what I said. You look grumpy. How often do you even smile?"

Keiko punched him in the shoulder without saying a word.

"What'd I say?" He put aside his chopsticks to rub his now sore arm.

"My best bet is to be honest about your feelings. Say hello. Introduce yourself." Botan offered.

"That much is obvious. I'm not about to make myself a fool by trying be something I'm not. That won't be a problem seeing that I can barely act like myself around him." Yui slammed her head on the table. She folded up her arms so nobody could see her face.

"Well, what's he like?" Mao let go and scooted herself to Yui's side.

"Perfect."

Mao rolled her eyes. "What does he look like?"

"Like a prince."

"Does he have nice eyes?"

"I could drown in them."

"What about his hair?"

"Like silk."

Yui wasn't being remotely useful. Her vague answers left much to be desired. She could be talking about anybody at the school. She gave Mao zero details. This made the 'older' sister frustrated to no end while she was also very excited for her sister. Come to think of it, there had been no indication that she liked Kurama. In fact, there was never any kind of indication of Yui liking anyone until that point. Mrs. Kagami sort of assumed that Yui was asexual, that is not interested in a relationship with anyone. That's she had explained to Mao when they finally got home. Yui was busy taking a shower, so she couldn't have heard their conversation.

* * *

Meanwhile in the Spirit World

"Kurama is here to see you, sir." A blue-tinted ogre popped his head out between the double doors.

Koenma sighed. There was a massive pile of paper work on his desk already. Couldn't it wait? Whatever he wanted, he better make it quick.

"Send him in," the prince stamped his arrival on the new budget for the repairs needed for the dam on the River Styx.

The ogre disappeared behind the doors and Kurama stepped in. He walked quickly to the large desk as if he was in a hurry.

"What brings you here? If you're looking for ways to shorten your parole, you're out of luck. I don't have anything for you." Koenma hadn't even bothered to look at his visitor.

"Actually, I'm here for a different kind of favor."

"Oh, do you want to shorten Hiei's parole?" But that was already out of the question.

"No, that's not it. I was wondering if you could find out if someone was dead or alive with the records that you have."

How interesting. This somehow piqued Koenma's curiousity. Why would Kurama possibly need to know who was alive or dead? Koenma put his stamp and ink aside. The paper work was pushed away. He looked up and leaned across the desk, granted not very far. His tiny hands were folded up and rested on his desk.

"I trust that you have a specific person in mind, otherwise you're out of luck."

"Sort of. Do you think you can find information about a man named Izo?"

Koenma pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do you know how many men are named Izo, both living and dead? You're going to be more specific than that."

"He's a dragon for one thing."

Koenma froze.

"He also from the _Northern _clan and disappeared nearly eight years ago. Is that specific enough for you?"

Koenma couldn't help but chuckle. "I see what this is about."

"You do?" A confused Kurama looked at the miniature prince of the underworld like he had grown a second head.

He nodded.

"You _like_ her."

"Pardon?"

"You like Yui Kagami and you're trying to find her father for her. It's a noble sentiment, but don't you think that it would be nicer if she knew what you were doing. After all, it's not _your _father you're looking for. It's hers." There was a knowing glint in Koenma's eyes.

"I can assure that I treat like anyone else. I don't have romantic feelings for her."

"And yet you're performing an incredibly personal quest to find her father. Would you do the same of Yusuke, Kuwabara, or Hiei?"

"Well, yes." He hesitated answering first. He hoped that Koenma hadn't noticed.

Koenma did notice. He just chose not to point it out. He leaned into his chair as if deep in thought, thinking things over to himself. At long last, he sat up straight again.

"I'll see what I can do. There's bound to be some record of him somewhere. He's dragon, after all. He shouldn't be too hard to miss."

"Thank you, sir." Kurama bowed from the waist briefly and made a quick escape. Hiei was waiting on the other side of the door for him.

"That toddler is right, you have feelings for the girl." He spat.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Kurama tried to play nonchalant, but Hiei was smart enough to not fall for a simple trick like that.

"I'm just thankful she's a dragon and not some human. Then I'm afraid I would have to cut off all communication with you."

"Keep talking like that and the universe might pay you back by giving _you_ feelings for a human girl." Kurama joked.

"That's not even remotely amusing." Hiei purposely bumped his arm into Kurama's as he walked ahead of him.

* * *

After another long day at school, Mao made her way to Yui's locker. She was wearing a determined look on her face. It would have been more convincing if she wasn't blushing so hard. Her lips were drawn as a fine line and eyes narrowed, one would think that Yui was about to take on the world in a deadly battle when she was about to confess to a boy she liked. All's fair in love and war, suppose.

"I'm going to do it," said Yui before slamming shut her locker.

"Today!" Mao was shocked by Yui's determination, but then looked at her sister's shaking knees. "Um, maybe you should give it a day or two before doing something so rash."

Yui took a deep breath. "When Maurice Koechline and Emile Nouguier proposed designs for a monument to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution, what do you supposed other people called it?"

"Uh..."

"The Eiffel Tower criticized by both engineers and artists alike. They said that it couldn't be done. They said that engineering, industry, and art couldn't be combined into one piece of architectural history. And what is the Eiffel Tower today? It stands firmly as the cultural icon of the French people and a symbol of ingenuity, the illegitimate child of art and engineering. If these two men were cowards, then Paris wouldn't be what it is today. They were brave and rash to continue their work. Therefore, who am I to be a coward?" Her brave speech did little to keep her knees from knocking against one another.

"If you...say so?" Mao had come to learn that Yui had the interesting ability to make mountains out of mole hills, that is to exaggerate exceedingly.

Yui turned to her left. Her breathing grew louder.

"There he is." She swallowed. "I'm going to do it."

Mao turned in that same direction. Kurama finishing up his packing. She had no reason to believe that it was anybody else that got her sister in a tizzy. There was a little pinprick in her chest. She liked him too, but for her sister's sake she wouldn't stand in her way. If she liked him, Yui could go for it. Besides, she was human. They didn't have anything in common anyway. She patted Yui's shoulder.

"Good luck." She whispered near Yui's ear.

"Thank you," Yui grasped her hand around Mao's briefly and gathered up her courage.

Mao watched as Yui made her way down the hall, closing in on Kurama. Her heart was beating so quickly. She wanted to cheer Yui on, however on the other hand she wanted to cry. It like getting a paper cut, pouring lemon juice and salt all over it, before wrapping it up in a band aid. Yui needed this more than she did. Mao had other options. She could have anybody else. This was Yui's turn to have what she wanted.

"Good afternoon, Yui-chan." Shuichi watched as Yui walked past.

Mao was stunned for a minute or two. She couldn't believe her eyes. She wanted to run up to Yui and ask her why Kurama wasn't good enough, but she also wanted to feel relieved. She kept watching as Yui went right past Kurama and up to the new kid.

Yui brushed past Kurama without acknowledging his presense. There was something else on her mind. Ryuunosuke had just finished putting everything in his bag for the day. She noticed how the afternoon sun made his skin look so inviting. His blue eyes were distracted with what he was doing. Her legs were barely holding her up.

"R-r-ryuunosuke-kun?"

He turned his head and straightened himself up.

"Yui Kagami, right?"

She nodded, blushing.

"Sorry I rifled through your bag." He scratched the back of his head. "I wanted to know whose bag it was. I couldn't just leave it there for somebody else to go through and steal stuff."

"I-it's fine, really. T-t-thank you. I really appreciate it."

Ryuunosuke smiled awkwardly at the girl standing there with her eyes glued to the ground.

"Um, well, see you around I guess." He grabbed his bag and almost got away when Yui grabbed the sleeve of his shirt.

"I-I-I-I really like you. P-please go out with me!" Yui asked almost too loudly.

Some of the students turned their heads wondering what was going on. Yui was the quiet type, too quiet. She never raised her voice. With the students staring at her, it just made the situation a whole lot worse. She could feel their eyeballs watching the scene like vultures. Ryuunosuke made no move to pull her away. He didn't do or say anything at all, which was nerve-wracking. Her emotional and pyschological well-being may depend on his answer. However, the guy was taking far too long. He was taking his sweet time. Was he just processing this information or was he just messing with her? If he didn't give her an answer in the next ten seconds, Yui would bolt for the nearest exit.

Then Ryuunosuke slowly turned, and it was agonizing waiting for him to do so. The corners of his soft lips titled upwards. Yui panicked. This was all just a joke to him. He was going to humiliate her in front of all these people.

"Are you hungry? We can go out and maybe get a bite to eat together. Though you'll have to show me the way, I'm still very new here." Ryuunosuke's voice was soft and tender.

Yui felt her fingers slip away. Her hand felt like dead weight. Her ears must have been decieving her, right? He didn't just agree to go out with her. That must have been some fluke. She hit her head on something. A heavy object caused blunt force trauma to the skull. She was being brainwashed. That was it. He didn't really say any of that stuff. This was all an illusion.

"Are you okay?" Ryuunosuke looked scared and confused.

"Uh?"

"I asked you if you're okay?"

"W-why do you ask?"

"Because you've been staring off into space. Do you want to go grab something to eat now?"

"Oh," Yui blinked. "S-sure."

Kurama had been watching the scene since Yui had snubbed him. She was normally a polite person. That's what caught him off guard. He hadn't quite expected for _that_ to happen. The two of them started walking off together. He couldn't help but feel that something was amiss, something was wrong. Mao came up beside him.

"I don't like him." Mao looked over her shoulder, eyes narrowed.

"What makes you say that?" He sounded absent-minded, and that wasn't like him. He seemed distracted.

"I don't know. I just know that there's something funny about him. I don't like him. I don't like him at all."


	12. Chapter 12

Yui sipped at the extra large strawberry milkshake she bought herself while Ryuunosuke busied himself with getting their food. The level of awkwardness was palatable. She couldn't even keep eye contact for longer than a few seconds. Her stomach was all in knots. The pit of her stomach could barely keep her beverage down. While he was gone, Yui already started to think about sneaking out via the window in the lady's bathroom. The disturbing rumblings in her stomach would make a perfect excuse. Unfortunately, Ryuunosuke returned sooner than expected. He handed over her the salad and kept the monstrous cheeseburger with everything but the kitchen sink served with it for himself.

"You said you were a vegetarian, right? Any particular reason why?" He bit down on the heart attack on a bun.

Yui picked at the greens in her salad with a fork.

"We lived near some farms in the only rural district in Sapporo. Our school used to take us to farms for field trips. One day, I got lost and witnessed something that pretty much traumatized for life and I haven't eaten any meat since."

Ryuunosuke was unaffected by this. "How old were you?"

"Nine and a half, maybe ten, I think." Yui answered and started eating too, although she thought her face was a green as the food in front of her.

For a long time, they ate in near silence. Yui stared at her food, avoiding conversation as best she could. The blushing just wouldn't stop. The heat must have started heading up towards her brain when she saw Ryuunosuke smiled at her. She must have been delusional after what he said next.

"You have pretty eyes, you know that?"

Yui kept her head low, her long hair of her wig hiding her face.

"T-thank you." Then, they returned to eating in relative silence.

That is...until this happened.

"Yui-chan! What are you doing here?"

Said girl might have choked on the milkshake she had been drinking, but to her mortification she coughed it up and some came out of her mouth and nose. Ryuunosuke jumped to her rescue with half of the dispensers napkins at the ready.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

"B-Botan? What, what are you doing here?" Yui's voice was muffled under the loads of napkins she kept to her face. Her face was mostly dry by then, however she needed an excuse to hide her face. As if this day couldn't get any worse. The cold milkshake was a stark contrast of her hot cheeks inflamed with embarrassment.

"I was just passing by and I couldn't help but notice the cute gentleman you have with you," Botan stuck her hand out for Ryuunosuke to shake. "My name's Botan. Happy to meet you!"

Ryuunosuke glanced at Yui who was trying to hide in between the cushions in the booth. He took Botan's hand, reluctantly, and gave it two good shakes.

"My mom calls me Ryuunosuke and my friends call me Ryuu, if I had any." He joked at his own self-depreciation.

"You don't have friends?" Asked Botan.

Yui felt a pang of something burning in her chest, and it wasn't the usual burning sensation. It wasn't anything close to feelings of embarrassment, shame, or guilt. No, this was something that was completely new. For one brief instance, Yui felt the need to smack Botan across the face and throw her out of the restaurant. That might have been something Yusuke would do, but her. Not Yui, not the responsible, sensible, non-violent, pacifist, and relatively calm Yui Kagami. But what was this strange feeling building inside her chest?

A tiny voice in the back of her head seemed to say, _You're jealous._ Naturally, Yui ignored it. There were a lot of things Yui was but being the petty jealous type certainly wasn't on that list. Besides, it was Botan for crying out loud. She must have been in her twenties at least. She was way too old for Ryuunosuke who was probably fifteen or sixteen any way.

"None around here. My mom and I just moved."

"Is it just you and your mom?"

Ryuunosuke's smile dropped. Yui looked up for just a millisecond to see the bitter and sad look on his face. It took just as long for Yui to believe that Botan was the cause of it. The burning sensation in her chest was resurrected much like the phoenix.

He nodded. "My dad left us when I was young. This town's supposed to be a new start."

"Well, by the looks of things you and Yui-chan are going to be the best of friends." Botan looked at her wrist as if she was checking the time. "Would you look at that? I gotta go. Much to do and less time to do it in!"

"Then hurry up and go then," Yui quipped uncharacteristically. She turned her head away from Botan, not quite unashamed that she said such a thing.

Botan stood there for a second or two. She seemed like she was taking in Yui' unexpected change in character. Her smile faltered but then she returned to her old self, bubbly personality and smiles and all, ignoring the sense of trepidation in her gut.

"I'd better run along now! Just thought I'd see how you were doing!" She said to Yui before turning to Ryuunosuke. "It was lovely meeting you, Ryuu-kun!"

Botan skipped away and ran out into the street. They didn't bother to watch where she was going. Even though she tended to stand out in the crowd with her perky attitude and unnaturally blue-colored hair, she seemed to have slipped right out of sight. Ryuunosuke was at a lose for words and the feeling was mutual for Yui.

"A friend of yours?"

Yui nodded.

"She seems...nice." He quietly went back to eating.

Yui chuckled and did the same. "You haven't met the others."

"There are others?"

She set aside her fork for a second, a little insulted. "D-despite what others think of me, I am capable of making friends. I-I just choose not to." And then she busied herself with eating so she wouldn't have to say anything more. With Ryuunosuke, that may be difficult. It seemed that he was determined in getting to know her, to prying into her life where she shouldn't be prying. And yet, at the same time Yui sort of _liked_ it. Not that she would ever say it, not even if Mao interrogated her with hot peppers and curry rice balls.

"I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry."

"I-It's alright. I should be used to it. I don't have...many friends."

"Why's that?" Ryuunosuke's tone was far too kind than Yui believed she deserved.

She didn't say anything in response. Surely Ryuunosuke couldn't be so blind or dense to not see what everyone else saw? Yui thought he was only trying to be nice. She wanted to sink and disappear in the seat's cushions.

"Hey." Ryuunosuke said in a comforting way. "Please don't shut me out. I really do want to get to know you better."

Yui could only stare at her salad, losing all appetite. In her stomach, a deadly mixture of all sorts of foreign emotions were bubbling up, threatening to explode which would only lead to further disaster. Escape seemed so tempting right about now. She could do it too. She was very athletic despite her smallish frame. Climbing through a window would be no challenge.

Ryuunosuke finally seemed to give up. He sighed, went into his pockets, and pulled out his wallet. He dropped a few yens to cover his meal onto the table before rising. He could have gotten away if Yui hadn't suddenly grabbed his sleeve. They were like that for a several minutes. The other customers in the diner were beginning to stare as Ryuunosuke made no move to get Yui to let go.

"P-please stay. I-I'm sorry if I seem cold. I d-don't, I don't know how to act around people. They scare me sometimes." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Ryuunosuke pulled away but instead of leaving he got back into his seat.

"Do I scare you?" He asked with a smile.

Yui shook her head vigorously. "N-no." Her blush darkened.

* * *

_Earlier_

Mao insisted that Kurama walk her home, but not for the reasons he expected. She looked confused and angry. She repeatedly her distrust of the "new kid" and how Yui shouldn't be associating with him. Despite his best efforts, Kurama could not talk sense into her. He had a feeling that there was more to it than simple distrust. Ryuunosuke was an enigma, for now. There wasn't much to be said about him because he had only been at school for a few days. It didn't make sense to make judgments about him when he was still, frankly speaking, a stranger to them all. But Mao, she seemed to share Yui's drama queen flare.

"Didn't you feel anything? Come on, you're a demon aren't you? Don't tell me you didn't sense anything from that guy!" Mao was lucky that there wasn't anybody around to hear that.

"Do speak louder. I don't believe that the city can hear you."

The teenage girl might have growled. Mao launched her fist and aimed for his arm. Her punch nailed Kurama right between his shoulder and elbow. It honestly didn't hurt that much, he doubted that she left a bruise, and even if she did it would heal by the end of the day or early the next morning.

"Don't mess with me like that!" Mao snapped.

"I'm sorry," he rubbed his slightly sore arm. "But I don't think you should be so apprehensive of a boy you know very little about. He transferred here just a few days ago but you're already making assumptions about him."

"What about my sister? I can't entrust her to a complete stranger!"

Kurama gave her a cold glare. "I think that is for Yui to decide. She seems to have taken a liking to him so it isn't any of your business."

Mao remained undeterred. "And what about you? I doubt that even somebody like you is completely nonchalant about this. You're not even just a _little _ bit jealous?"

"My feelings are of no consequence. What Yui wants to do is her business. I have no say in who she wants to see, whether on a Platonic or romantic level." He brushed past Mao so that he was walking ahead of her, not by much but still enough to put some distance between them.

He heard her gasp audibly. She ran after him and got in front, blocking his path. An accusatory finger was thrust into his face.

"You _are_ jealous, aren't you?"

Kurama stopped in his tracts and casually removed it from his face. "You're thinking too hard about it, however like I said, my feelings are of no consequence. Why can't you be happy that your sister was able to talk to someone of her own will?"

"Because I don't trust that weasel one bit! There's something wrong with him and he's up to no good! I can feel it in my gut! And I'm going to prove it one way or another."

"And how are you going to do that?" His tone made a cold beeline down her back.

"I-I don't know, but I going to do it whether you help me or not!"

A couple of figures were making their way down the opposite end of the street. It was a familiar green uniform and the other one in blue.

"What's up?" Yusuke waved.

Mao jumped on the chance to reel in at least one other conspirator. She spun around and ran up to Yusuke.

"You're job title is _spirit detective_, right?"

"Um, yeah. Why do you ask?"

"She's trying to find evidence against the new transfer student at our school in order to keep Yui away from him." Kurama's answer was cold and to the point.

Yusuke didn't know whether to be confused or shocked, so he went for both.

"What, uh, sort of evidence do have to suspect him of being up to no good?"

"Well," Mao paused. "Nothing other than my gut feeling."

"And you're sure you're not the one _jealous_ of somebody taking your sister away from you? I mean, you seem pretty sure that's he gonna do something bad but you don't know what. Could it be that you've become so close to your sister that pretty much any stranger coming between you two is a threat to that newly formed bond?"

_Silence _A piece of paper blew across the sidewalk.

"Who are you and what have you done to the real Urameshi!?" Kuwabara almost jumped five feet in the air, hollering like a monkey.

"That was...mildly profound of you, Yusuke." Admittedly, Kurama was still a little scared. An intelligent Yusuke, the apocalypse was coming sooner than expected.

Yusuke shrugged his shoulders. "Keiko's probably rubbing off on me, I guess."

Groaning, Mao said, "Are you going to help me or not?"

"With what?"

"With proving that Ryuunosuke's a big fat liar and a schemer!" Mao was so frustrated she could have strangled him then and there.

"Maybe Yusuke has a point," Kurama laid his hand on Mao's shoulder.

"I do?" Said a confused Yusuke.

"I think that you don't want to see your sister taken away from you so you've got this idea in your head that Ryuunosuke is going to hurt her. You should let this go and let your sister be happy." Kurama gently squeezed her shoulder.

Mao nearly threw him off of her. "Do think it's merely a coincidence that a transfer student suddenly appears two weeks after that incident? Surely, you have felt _something_ being around him? Plus, he's got those blue eyes! What Japanese person has blue eyes?"

"Kuwabara's a ginger and he's Japanese. And human too," Yusuke pointed out.

Snarling, "Give me one chance, just one, to prove Ryuunosuke Maruyama is a demon. If he isn't, I'll drop the whole thing."

"And if he is?" Asked Yusuke.

"Then I get to rub it in _all_ of your faces before saving my sister from him!"

Yusuke sighed, rolling his eyes. He dug into his pants pocket for something.

"What are you doing?" Kuwabara had relaxed from his panic attack Yusuke initiated with his short and sudden spark of intellect.

"Calling for back-up. Botan might know what to do."

* * *

_A little while later_

"I'm sorry, but you want me to do what?" Botan had thrown everything that she had been doing previously right out the window because she was convinced Yusuke needed her for something. Now she was standing in an shadowy alley, spying on a diner.

Yui and some boy just went inside. There wasn't anything suspicious there.

"Walk in, introduce yourself to Ryuunosuke, shake his hand, add the skin cells you collected and use that device you've got there to tell us if he's demon." It was obvious that Mao was a little obsessed with proving herself right.

"These devices are for the Spirit Detective only. If Koenma finds out that I used them without proper authorization, I could get into serious trouble."

"I'll cover for you." Mao hissed. She was growing impatient. She kept glancing past Botan's shoulder to glare at the diner

"How exactly do you plan to do that?" She asked, irritated, brows furrowed and frowning deeply. Botan didn't mean to come off cross, but at this point Mao was being obnoxiously stubborn.

"Would you just go!"

Botan heaved a heavy sigh. "Very well, if you're going to be that way about it..."

She turned her back to the girl and made her way across the street. The small group watched and waited until Botan came right back out. Rushing across the street, Botan returned to the shadowy hideout, cradling her hand to her chest. By opening her palm, she revealed a tiny box with a needle protruding from the middle.

"Did he feel anything?" Asked Yusuke.

Botan shook her head. "I don't think he felt a thing." Turning to Mao, she said, "I should warn you, it might take a few hours or even a day for the DNA to fully process. Perhaps even longer than that _if _he is really a demon."

"Thank you. And I'm sorry I snapped earlier. I just...I just want to make that my sister is safe."

Botan couldn't stay mad at her. "You're welcome," she pulled her oar out of thin air. "I'll get this to the Spirit World right away. I'll talk to you when the DNA comes back."

* * *

_Later_

Yui stared at her feet as Ryuunosuke walked her home. Their conversations were short and it was mostly awkward silences in between. It was obvious that Ryuunosuke was struggling to get to her and she was too scared to let him catch up. It was equally difficult to let him in, even just a little bit. This was the first time she talked to a complete stranger and mean to do it. With Kurama, it was different. He came after her. Yui was never the pursuer. In terms of tradition, she breaking a few of the rules. Women were to be chased by men, not the other way around. For at least part of the evening, Yui felt entirely uncomfortable, both with the situation and with herself. Ryuunosuke had to persuade her to allow him to walk her home.

"It's kind of nice out, don't you think." He tried to make small talk but wasn't sure if it was working. Looking up into the early evening sky, "The sunset makes the sky pretty."

Yui hummed in agreement. They returned to a long period of silence again. They walked a littler further.

"Do you hate me?" Ryuunosuke asked.

Yui stopped mid-step. "What? N-no. I couldn't, I couldn't do that!"

Ryuunosuke looked at her. His eyes were cold and hard. "Then why have you barely said anything to me this entire time. Aren't you the one who asked _me_ out?"

She shut her eyes tight to keep the tears that were threatening to escape.

"I'm not good with people okay! I'm not good with talking to them or being nice to them or standing in their presence without throwing up because I'm so nervous! I'm sorry if I'm not up to your standards because I've met some horrible people that have made me this way."

"Nobody but you determines who you turn out to be!"

She had to admit, he was very honest with her. That's what she liked most of all: honesty.

"Who you turn into to is completely your responsibility. Screw what others have done to you or say to you! You turn into whatever you want, whether you have somebody's permission or not! Learn to stand on your own feet and do what you want to do!"

Yui looked up from her feet. If he had the courage to say that, then she could have the courage to look him in the eye. Ryuunosuke wasn't angry but he was irritated. It was likely that he was justified in it. He seemed cold and harsh, but Yui didn't think he hated her. He couldn't have otherwise he wouldn't be where he was now.

"Nobody has ever said anything like to me."

Ryuunosuke was struck by her tone and thought that he hurt her somehow. He put his hand on the back of his neck, turned his head slightly, and blushed a little.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say stuff like that...It's just–" He became silent after Yui pressed her lips on his cheek.

It was quick peck. It lasted for maybe three seconds. Four tops. She had to stand on her tip-toes because he was a little taller than she was. When it was over, they were both brighter and redder than a ripe tomato. They couldn't even look at each other; both of them were staring at their own feet.

"T-thank you for saying it. Nobody's ever been so honest with me."

Ryuunosuke waited to build up some courage before asking her something.

"Do you, do you want to hang out this Saturday?"

Yui thought for a while. Shaking her head, "I'm afraid this Saturday is out of the question. I've got other things plans."

She couldn't help feel a little angry at herself for making Ryuunosuke sad. He looked like a kicked puppy.

"B-but I'm free Sunday!"

Immediately Ryuunosuke's face brightened.

* * *

_Meanwhile in the Spirit World_

Botan passed down several corridors. She was running out of excuses passing by ogres and other ferry girls on the way there, the Spirit World's very own forensic lab! The hallway was dark and the women inside was known for being all around creepy. Botan braced herself for the worst as she knocked on the door. It creaked open slowly and a large yellow eye greeted her.

"Can I help you?" The voice behind the door hissed.

"I-I have something for you to analyze..."

The door opened wider to reveal an imp of a woman, short, bony and thin in frame much like a skeleton. Standing, she reached Botan's chest. Her skin was a shade of sickly pale yellow and her eyes were narrow and dark in the center. Her black hair trailed down her back in a long ponytail. She extended her clawed hand outwards. Botan reached into her kimono sleeve and retrieved the device, which she had sealed up in a plastic baggy.

"This isn't protocol. You usually give me a heads up in advance."

"Listen, Minorin, you have to keep this quiet," Botan whispered. She looked over both of her shoulders to make sure no one was around.

"What is it?"

"Could you not ask questions? This is top secret!"

Minorin's eyes turned into slits. "I'm working here to keep myself out of five-hundred thousand years in Hell and you're asking me to risk my afterlife for some shady business?"

She started closing the door but Botan shoved herself between the door and the frame.

"Please, please! This could be very important!"

"Could be?" Minorin struggled to close the door. She putting all of her strength against the door. "I'm not risking my afterlife on a _could be!_"

"I'll cover for you, I swear. If someone finds out, I'll take the blame! All of it but please, can't you do one favor for me!" Botan sweetly batted her eyes lashes.

Realizing that this was getting her nowhere, Minorin roughly grabbed the plastic bag and Botan was freed from the trap she stuck herself in.

"But remember, if I get caught, you're taking all the blame!" The demon whisked off into the shadows of the laboratory.

* * *

_At Meiou High_

It was hard not to feel giddy. There were shocked faces all around when Yui came into school wearing this big, broad smile on her face and a slight blush on her cheeks. Her peers were more afraid than curious as to what could make her seem so happy. They were so weirded out that they left her alone for the entire day, and that never happened before. Not to her. Without their prime target, some of them were getting bored. It was rather nice. Mao even managed to stop by Yui's locker as she was changing shoes.

"How are you?" Asked Mao.

"I've never felt better!" Yui giggled.

"So," she struggled to find the right words. "Did you have fun last night?"

"Yep...Ryuunosuke is just...SO SWEET AND HONEST!"

"You know that Genkai called the house yesterday, wondering where you were."

Yui's face paled and she hit her head on her locker. "Crap! I forgot!"

"She said something about making it up to her, but you'd better be there today."

Groaning, Yui gathered her things. "I better be going then."

"Stop right there!" A voice thundered down the other end of the hall.

Yui and Mao turned and looked with horror. Ryuunosuke was cornered by four or five students. They encircled him like vultures. Yui dropped her bag and was about to head over there herself, but Mao grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop.

"What are you doing?"

"He needs help." Yui struggled to get out of her sister's grip.

"I think he can handle it on his own."

"What if it was me over there? Would you stop them?"

"Of course I would!"

Yui gave Mao a hard look. "Then let me help him."

Reluctantly, Mao eased up on Yui's arm. Freed, Yui ran down the hall just in time to see Ryuunosuke being slammed into the wall. She ran faster but it was too late. One of the guys got him into a head lock.

"Ryuu-kun!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.

Ryuunosuke looked to find her running towards him. He tried to tell her to stay away, but it was no use. Then, suddenly one of his bullies pulled at his scalp.

Everything happened in slow motion as far as Yui could tell. She thought that they were just pulling his hair, but it was worse than that. A hand was fisted in his hair, only it wasn't really his hair. A mop of black hair was pulled away from him. A mop of _white_ hair took its place. Yui's heart immediately started pounding.

_White hair_, she thought. _White hair, blue eyes, pale skin. He's just like..._

Ryuunosuke somehow managed to pry his way out of the situation. He grabbed Yui's arm as he passed by and dragged her out of the school with him. They ran and ran until they both couldn't run anymore. When they finally stopped to catch their breath, they found themselves in a secluded park, alone.

"Ryuu-"

He silenced her with a kiss on the mouth. Yui's eyes flew wide open. Right away her knees started buckling; no, her whole body was shaking. Ryuunosuke's kiss was borderline possessive. She didn't know what he was thinking, and that made her panic. Why was he doing this? You don't just kiss a girl after being bullied. What was wrong with him?

They parted for air, briefly. Yui barely had time to say his name before he planted yet another kiss on her lips.

* * *

"I think I saw them go this way!" Mao shouted as she and Kurama ran along side each other, looking for the other couple

They managed to track them down into a park.

"There they are!"

Kurama stopped in his tracks when he saw Ryuunosuke and Yui together. Mao almost trapped over her own two feet trying to stop herself from going any further. She turned to find him just standing there like a useless bump on a log.

"What are you doing?" She hissed. "Don't you want to get some answers?"

Kurama shook his head. "Let them be."

"What?"

"Look," he gestured towards the couple.

The two of them watched as Ryuunosuke planted fervent kisses on Yui's lips, but she did nothing in protest.

His stomach churned, eyes narrowed, and his hands tightened into fists at his sides. Maybe he was jealous. Maybe, probably, most likely, even if it was just a little bit. "Let's just go, Mao. We have nothing more to do here."

"B-but don't you want to know why he looks like that? Why he looks so much like an snow dragon?"

"Ice dragon," Kurama corrected. He turned his back on the amorous couple. "I don't need to ask him any questions at this point. Let her be happy."

"But, but..."

Kurama said nothing else. Mao was so angry and frustrated that she kicked a pebble into the back of his leg. Naturally, Kurama hardly noticed it and kept walking away.


	13. Chapter 13

"Yusuke!" Botan hollered at the top of her lungs as she descended towards the ground.

Yusuke and Kuwabara looked up. They were trying to make their way to the arcade, but by the looks of it there was a change of plans.

"You people always know when I'm about to enjoy myself, don't you?"Said Yusuke snidely just as Botan touched down and hid her magic oar in thin air.

"This is kind of emergency, Yusuke. The tracking department is in a tizzy and Lord Koenma is prepared to have a mental breakdown."

"As opposed to every other time?" Yusuke folded his arms across his chest, pouting.

"This is serious! We're talking about unregistered dragons in the area!"

"So Mao...was right?" Asked Kuwabara.

Botan slightly nodded. "Yes, but that's not the point. There are three known dragons in the area: Yui, Ryuunosuke, and his mother. But there's a fourth lingering outside the city and it's making Lord Koenma nervous."

"Can't he just tell him to, I don't know, move or whatever?" Yusuke's patience was running thin.

"It's not as simple as that." Botan sighed.

"What do ya mean?"

Shaking her head nervously, "Lord Koenma is blocked by too many laws and prohibitions. Dragons have proved to be such great allies to the Spirit World that they are protected. It's easier for them to travel between worlds and their affairs are left alone. Even if Lord Koenma had the means, there is no way he could interfere with one of them, even if it threatened a human city."

"Are you kidding? A bunch of overgrown lizards get to do whatever they want and you can't get them to leave, but you want to send me out? What if__I __get eaten? Whatcha gonna do then?"

The air went cold like a gust of wind from the north blew all the way there just to give him and his friends a chill down their spines.

"Just who are you calling an overgrown lizard?" Came a voice like winter wind.

Yusuke and Kuwabara whipped around and Botan got behind Yusuke, looking past his shoulder. Ryuunosuke was still in his school uniform, but was still completely out of place. His disheveled white hair drew attention in the worst of ways. He looked like a punk or the kind of guy you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. His striking silver-blue eyes seemed to blaze like embers yet were ice cold. The air around him swirled with a freezing kind of energy. It surrounded him like a shield. Ryuunosuke glared at Yusuke head on, not caring what he might do such as pull out his spirit gun and fire point blank.

"So, we finally meet in person?" Yusuke lowered his arms to his sides. He didn't know if he had to fight this guy but couldn't let down his guard either. Admittedly, he was kind of torn. He knew Yui really liked the guy for some reason and didn't want to think what she might do if he laid a hand on Ryuunosuke. He'd seen her mother and what Yui could do as well if the circumstances were just right.

"If you wanted an introduction, you have have asked. Instead of, you know, pricking my hand with a needle," Ryuunosuke opened his palm to show the near invisible pinprick left in the middle of his hand.

Botan nervously cowered behind Yusuke, ducking behind him and using the boy as a meat shield.

"You really are a demon, uh?" Said Kuwabara.

Ryuunosuke groaned. Rubbing his temple, he shook his head as if he was highly disappointed.

"If this is the best Spirit World has to offer, I think they should really reconsider their recruitment strategies."

"You're incredibly unpleasant when Yui isn't around," Botan remarked earning a sharp glare from Ryuunosuke.

"Those of us from the Northern clan are raised to be this way. If you're weak or sickly, you're left out in the wilderness to be eaten by dire wolves. We have snow for blood and ice for bones. We seem cruel because the environment in which we live in does not allow the weak to survive very long."

"Then what are you doing here?"

Ryuunosuke's eyes narrowed into slits, pupils cut like a reptile's. If looks could kill, Yusuke would be a frozen statue by now. "That is none of your business, human."

The three of them exchanged looks. Maybe Mao was on to something.

"I was on my way home after walking Yui to the bus stop. Tell me, what does she do at this Genkai's place, anyway?" Ryuunosuke asked.

"Why do you care?"

"I believe I asked the question. You can answer or I can freeze you where you stand." Ryuunosuke warned.

"Fine then, she goes up there to learn how to control her powers," Yusuke answered.

"Yusuke," Botan cried in disbelief. "You can't just give out information like that!"

Ryuunosuke looked mildly confused. "'Control her powers? How can that be? She's almost sixteen, isn't she? Shouldn't she have proper control already?"

Yusuke paused before speaking. "You don't know?"

"Know what?"

Botan got out from behind Yusuke and punched him hard in the gut. She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close to her face.

"You idiot! You can't give out any more information than that! What if he uses it for some nefarious purpose," Botan hissed.

"I can hear you, you know." Ryuunosuke chimed in.

Botan whipped around to find the icy young man not amused by her antics. His hand ruffled through his hair before he put it behind his pale ear. It was slightly pointed but well-hidden under his hair.

"We dragons have very good hearing. Trying to whisper in front of me really is pointless."

Nervously, Botan stepped to the side. Yusuke was moaning and complaining about his gut. He didn't know that she could punch so hard. Admittedly, he hated being seen like this, especially in front of this guy. Ryuunosuke was not what he pretended to be. This little encounter was proof of that. Underneath the physical pain, Yusuke felt something tingling in his gut when he looked at the guy. Ryuunosuke had this look about him that he meant business. He was a nasty dude. He was mean as he was cold. That fierce yet freezing cold look could give Hiei a run for his money. It was almost scary how he could be so cold.

"You're telling me that Yui...can't control her powers?" Ryuunosuke's face changed slightly. Now, he appeared to be contemplating something.

None of them said a word. When they didn't give him an answer, Ryuunosuke interpreted their silence as a positive answer.

"And she asked an old human woman to train her," he ground his teeth. "Mi'lord would not like to hear that."

"Who's __Mi'lord__?" Asked Yusuke.

"King of the North, head of the clan." Ryuunosuke answered quickly. They were certain that he hadn't meant to say his previous remark out loud. He stroked his chin as if he was searching for answers in his dimples.

Saying not another word, Ryuunosuke brushed past them. Not so much brush past them but walk right by them as if they were nothing but air. Yusuke, healed from Botan's sudden assault, turned on his heels and started running after him.

"Don't you walk away from me! I've still got questions for you!"

Somehow Ryuunosuke was able to disappear in the crowd, even looking as odd as he did in his school uniform. Yusuke lost track of him in the busy streets. The boy vanished and left no trace. Kuwabara and Botan caught up with him. They stood on a street corner and scanned the crowds. Ryuunosuke must have found a way to turn into wind or become invisible. They couldn't find catch even a glimpse of his white hair. It should have been easy though. Their search was to no avail.

"Mao isn't going to let us live this down," Botan sighed.

* * *

"Could you repeat that? I don't think I heard you correctly." They found Mao on her way on home. She let them inside, served drinks, and waited for her request to be answered. She looked thoroughly satisfied and quite smug.

"I said you were right!" An exasperated Yusuke said loudly enough for the neighbors to hear.

"Say it again!"

"You were right!"

"One more time, please. I really want to rub it in your face!"

Yusuke refused, crossed his arms, and sat in his chair with the most horrible posture he could come up with. He slouched in his chair at the dining table, mumbling under his breath.

"Ryuunosuke is as bad as I figured him out to be! And they say only Yui's the smart," Mao gloated with a dark chuckle.

"He didn't say it in so many words, but he is up to something. Probably him and his mother." Botan stated. "We also have another dragon outside the city. It seems that there's no end of potential crises."

Mao took a swig of water. "What does that have to do with anything? If we leave it alone, maybe it'll go away."

"Dragons are extremely territorial, Mao. Lord Koenma's worried that if the dragon stays for very long, it'll try to claim the city as its own and Yui will be caught in a fight for it." Botan explained at the same time trying to keep calm. Dragons were notorious for leveling cities just to stake their claim on land, even if that meant destroying the very thing they were fighting for. Koenma had every right to be nervous.

"Yui isn't going to get into a fight over something so stupid. She's not petty at all." Mao stated as a matter of fact. "Plus, she doesn't have a violent bone in her body."

"Even so, she's still a dragon. Her very nature won't allow an outsider interfere. And as I was telling Yusuke and Kuwabara earlier, there isn't anything Lord Koenma can do about it. He doesn't have the power and authority to simply move the dragon elsewhere."

"Some prince of the underworld he is," Mao grumbled before taking another sip from her glass. "So do we just sit here and wait for something to happen or does he have an actual plan?"

"Well," Botan's hand ruffled through her hair nervously and stopped at the back of her head. "Unfortunately, no. The best bet we have is to find the demon and find out what it wants. We may have to bring Yui along."

"You want to put my sister in even more danger?" Mao slammed her hand against the table.

Botan jumped in her seat, waving her hands defensively. "We don't really have much of a choice. Yusuke's not strong enough to go against a dragon and the situation is technically outside of his jurisdiction. If it was an ordinary demon, Lord Koenma would send him right over there. However, that is not the situation. There are two things one needs to know about dragons: one, they don't take orders or listen to anyone. Two, don't meddle in the affairs of dragons."

"Because you're crunchy and taste good with wasabi," Yusuke quipped.

* * *

"Are you feeling better?" Mao asked her sister as they put on their shoes to go home after another day at school.

"Much better, actually." She opened her mouth to say something else, but stopped herself from doing so.

Mao saw how she hesitated. "Is something the matter?"

Yui closed the locker door, locked it, and slowly turned to her sister.

"Do you not like Ryuu-kun?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Because the other day you seemed __upset__."

"Now why would I be upset?" Mao sneered at the thought of Ryuunosuke having his hands on her sister.

"Mao," Yui didn't sound as mad as she seemed. "I know that you want to protect me. After what happened, I am in the same shoes as you. I want to protect you too, but Ryuunosuke is not out to hurt me. He's the best thing that has happened to me. He understands me in a way...you never could."

"How so? Shouldn't your own sister, your __twin __sister know you better than anyone else?" Mao's fists tightened at her sides.

Yui gave her a cold, sharp look. "With all due respect, Mao, we haven't properly spoken to each other in almost eight years. If it wasn't for that incident, we probably would have kept going as we were. Ryuu-kun is just like me. He's...he's..."

"A demon." Mao finished for her.

A gasp left Yui with shock quickly sinking in. Would Mao tell their mother about Ryuunosuke?

"I was doing some research on him, and he doesn't make it hard to put two and two together."

"What do you mean you were doing research on him? Have you been spying on us?" Yui could barely look at her sister. To think that Mao had so little trust.

"I don't trust him. There are some things that you need to know about him."

"Like what! Tell me what you know. There isn't anything that he's been hiding from me!" Yui shouted.

Mao looked around. They were starting to pick onlookers.

"Yui, keep your voice down. You'll attract attention."

"No, I won't."

Yui's brave new voice startled Mao. Her cheeks were flaring. She was shaking all over. There was an unknown emotion behind her crystal blue eyes Mao had never seen there before.

"I want you to tell me exactly what you know about Ryuu-kun. I want you to tell me why I should not be with him when he has done nothing wrong. Tell me why I can't be happy!"

"It's not that I want you to be unhappy, I don't trust..."

"Don't trust who, Mao? Me or Ryuunosuke?"

"Who do you think!"

The sisters glared at each other. A small gathering came to watch the show, not that either of them noticed.

"Not once have I questioned your judgment but the second I start to feel __something __towards a person, you jump to the conclusion that he's no good for me. Why can't you trust me?"

"I do trust you. It's him that I'm worried about!"

"Why's that? Why is he any different from anyone else here?"

"Just trust me when I say that he's a lying snake and you should stay away from him. You're just going to end up being hurt."

"What's your proof? What is he planning? Have you been spying on him when my back is turned?"

Kurama had over heard the shouting from down the hall. Yui and Mao certainly knew how to draw a crowd. This was the second time they decided to pick a fight in the middle of the hallway. Students were circling around like vultures waiting for first blood. What was about two girls fighting that grew a crowd like nothing else? They didn't even have to be drawing blood. If two girls were screaming down each others throats, then rest assured there would be people standing around to watch. He had told himself time again that he would interfere as little as possible in their lives. Yui was seeing someone and Mao needed to learn to grow up on her own. On the other hand, they were causing a great deal of fuss. The chances that it could escalate were slowly rising. Kurama made his way over there and pushed his way through the body of students.

Mao and Yui were standing at least a foot apart. School bags were on the ground. They were both shaking with anger and glaring at each other. They had been getting along so well.

"Why don't you ask Yusuke about it? He, Kuwabara, and Botan can verify with my that Ryuunosuke is just a lying little piece of shit! I'm trying to protect you from him but you're being so damn stubborn!"

"So you were spying on him!" Yui accused.

"No, I wasn't! He just so happened to sneak up on us!"

"A likely story," Yui scoffed.

"Go and ask any of them. They'll tell you that he's..."

__SLAP__

A collective gasp left the mouths of the students. Funny how nobody did the same when Mao hit her sister a while back. Some girls clasped their hands over their mouths. The male students were torn between excitement and worry. However, all were generally confused. Yui Kagami was everybody's favorite punching bag. She put up little resistance and made it so easy to bully her, especially for the girls. Too quiet, too anti-social, too __weird__ to be taken seriously. There were rumors that she was Mao's half sister or cousin. They were too different to be so closely related. Never once had anybody imagine Yui Kagami raising a hand against anyone, let along her sister. But she did it. Her palm was red as Mao's cheek. The other girl looked just as shocked as some of the members in the crowd. Her eyes were torn wide open. Yui seemed to be in disbelief as well. She was shaking more violently than before and breathing hard. Even her breath was shaking.

"No." Her tone was terrifyingly cold and harsh. "Not another word. I don't want you to say another word about Ryuunosuke. You...have no idea what's it like to be me. You're the pretty one. You're the one with friends. You can make friends without even trying. You have guys who like you, and for the longest time I would have never been remotely close to having any of that. Ryuunosuke has helped with that. He doesn't make me feel isolated like I have been for the past eight years. He makes me feel __special__, like I have nothing to be afraid of."

Yui was speaking with such passion that Mao was forced to take notice. She slowly turned towards her sister. There was an air swirling around Yui. Something was changing within her. She exuded this energy that came out of nowhere.

"With Ryuunosuke," Yui began again. "I have nothing to fear. I don't have to be afraid anymore."

"Afraid of what?" Mao couldn't stop herself from asking. Butterflies were fluttering around so much in her stomach, causing her to feel lightheaded. A chill ran up her spine. Goosebumps crawled over her skin. The feeling got worse when Yui's frown slowly rose and became a smile.

__What are you going to do? __Mao wonder nervously. She looked at the crowd around them, finally noticing that they were being closely watched. Yui wouldn't reveal herself in front of all these people, would she? No, that couldn't be it. She wasn't stupid.

"Of the opinions of others." Her hand reached for the edge of her wig.

Mao seized her arm before she could pull it off.

"What are you doing?" She could barely keep her hold on her sister. Yui was quietly resisting with a power Mao didn't know she had.

"I've been dreaming this entire time, hoping that one day that I'll wake up and be some place better."

"Yui, what are you saying?"

"Is this wise?" Kurama suddenly spoke up.

Yui turned her head slightly towards him. His face was drawn with worry. His eyes seemed to hold more than just a glimmer of concern.

"I've woken up from that dream. Something has changed within me. Something isn't the same as before. It is too late to go back to sleep." She said calmly and then turned to Mao again. "Let go."

"Y-Yui."

Yui eased Mao's hand away from her. She gently pushed her sister away. Her pale hand reached once more for the edge of the wig. Her fingers grasped it. She was shaking. Closing her eyes, Yui took a deep breath and released it slowly. She tightened her grasp. At an achingly drawn-out pace, she curled her fingers and pulled the wig off in front of everyone. When it came off along with the wig cap, her shoulders suddenly felt so much lighter. Her white hair tumbled out and spilled down her back. The wig and cap were discarded, abandoned on the floor. Her hands rifled through her hair, pulling out pins that kept it so neatly bound up. These too were left on the floor for somebody else to pick up.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be okay from now on." She picked up her bag and sauntered away like nothing happened, snow white hair trailing behind her.

* * *

Yui rounded a corner once she was out of sight. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a trashcan and the threatening lurch in her stomach increased in strength. She ran for it, dropped her bag, and ducked her head inside. After dry heaving for a couple of minutes, eventually she could no longer keep her lunch inside. Her lurches and groans echoed a little as she emptied the contents of her stomach. When she finally raised her head again, Yui felt lightheaded and stumbled back slightly. Lucky for her, someone was there to catch her when she fell.

"Yui, your hair?" Ryuunosuke looked at her with bewildered eyes.

Immediately, heat rushed to her cheeks. She could feel the blood pumping through her veins. Running fingers through her hair, Yui couldn't get herself together enough to look at him in the eyes. Her eyes were drawn to her shoes. She could not look at him. Not with the fluttering butterflies threatening to overrun her her digestive system.

"It...it's because of you that I-I did this. You have no shame, and I mean that in the best possible way, Ryuu-kun. I, I mean you didn't bother to care about what other people would say about you. You've given me courage to do something I'd never thought I could. I, I took it off in front of everybody. I don't, I don't want to be afraid anymore!"

"Yui," he pulled her into a tight embrace, nestling her nose against her white throat, "You shouldn't put so much confidence in me."

"Why not? You're, you're the best thing that's happened in my life. You've given me courage to do something I never thought I could before."

Slowly, she raised her arms from her sides and wrapped them around Ryuunosuke. Yui held her close to her, blushing as his hard chest met with her soft one. First time, she was curious what he looked like without a shirt. The sudden heat that came with such a naughty thought made her head so light, her vision faded into white lights. Her eyelids closed and she allowed herself to fall into unconsciousness. The last thing she heard was Ryuunosuke calling out to her.

The boy nervously looked around him . Here he was with an unconscious girl in his arms. What was he supposed to do now? If anyone saw them like this, he was a dead man!

"What on earth is going on here?" He turned around with Yui slumped in his arms to find Kurama staring at him.

"Look, I can explain," Ryuunosuke started but didn't know why he should have to explain anything to him.

"Did the heat go straight to her head again?" Kurama walked down the hall to meet them. When he finally got there, he placed his hand on Yui's forehead. "I see that is the case. Whatever did you to her?"

There was so much venom in his voice that Ryuunosuke had to resist with all of his might not to shiver or cower before him.

"I don't know what got into her. She just fainted!"

"I see." Kurama said rather coldly.

"I didn't do anything if that's what you're asking." Ryuunosuke returned. His mood turned foul in the other man's presence. He sensed something off with this guy. Something just didn't feel right. It felt like there was a power much stronger than he coming off of the one they called Shuichi Minamino.

"She tends to do that sometimes. She's easily flustered."

"How would you know?" Ryuunosuke growled. He had trouble keeping his fangs, which were aching to tear into Minamino's throat, out of sight.

"I've known her longer than you have. I know her habits, her personality, the small things that make up her person. She's a very modest person, extremely so. I believe that you were her first kiss so even if you just hold her close like that for an extended period of time, I think the results would be the same." There was an edge of smugness in his voice, like he knew something more.

Ryuunosuke couldn't help but tighten his fingers around Yui. "And what does that mean?"

"If you're thinking that we've done something inappropriate, you are mistaken. I would never take advantage of Yui like that. And the same should go for you."

Ryuunosuke cradled Yui his arms and easily stood up. She was light as feather. Her extra weight didn't bother him at all.

"Are you implying something, Minamino?"

"That is for you to decide. I will not have you hurt her in any way. I respect her far too much to have you ruin her. She has been through a lot of pain already. I don't want to see any more scars marring her body or spirit. Do you understand?"

Ryuunosuke couldn't suppress a hiss and showing off his fangs. His pupils were slit down the middle like snake eyes.

"I don't care if you're the king of the underworld, you should learn how you speak to me. I could rip out your throat for talking to me like that!" He hissed.

Kurama remained as calm and collected as always. Ryuunosuke had let his emotions get the better of him. His true form was showing. The air about them certainly got coldly as the boy released his energy into the atmosphere as if claiming his territory. He was only following what his instincts were telling him to do, protect what was his. Kurama had heard many vicious stories of the dangers of even just tiptoeing around a dragon's property or territory. They liked to assert their dominance in displays of outbursts of raw energy. Half the time they didn't fight or have a need to when they let their powerful auras do the fighting for them. Ryuunosuke was simply staking his claim. However, Kurama took offense to this. Yui, he knew, wouldn't appreciate being called a piece of property. Meek and mild as she was, she also possessed her mother's dominant spirit at times and wouldn't allow herself to be spoken of like she was something to be owned rather than respected.

Normally, he wouldn't blow his cover so easily. For Yui's sake, Kurama would make an exception. He let down some of his barriers, only releasing a tiny portion of his energy. Just the smallest fraction of his own spirit energy was enough to make Ryuunosuke notice that he was not in the presence of a normal human being. Or a human being at all.

"What the..." Ryuunosuke was utterly flabbergasted. He hadn't expected that.

"Surprised? You should be. I've spent the last fifteen years perfecting ways to keep my spiritual energy tucked away and difficult to be traced, even by the Spirit World. It's good to know that my efforts have not been wasted." He chuckled.

"Who are you?" Ryuunosuke glared with reptilian eyes burning like little embers.

Kurama took a moment before speaking. "You don't seem like you are very old. I've heard that dragons from the time their born until their adolescence they age as humans, which is why they're fairly easy to catch. It wouldn't surprise me if you actually were fifteen years old."

Ryuunosuke ground his teeth. __How could he possibly know that?__

"Have you heard your parents talk about a white fox in the Makai? He's a rather famous thief that made a name for himself in just a few hundred years. He suddenly vanished over a decade ago. I wonder where he went."

Kurama watched as Ryuunosuke's eyes lit up. His pupils returned to normal. He looked defeated the moment realization hit him. Kurama made sure to savor the look on Ryuunosuke's face for future reference. He stood there like a useless bump on a log while he brushed right past him. Kurama placed his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it firmly, almost painfully. Ryuunosuke winched just a little.

"If you dare to hurt her, I will be the one to make you regret it. I consider her to be a very good friend of mine and would hate to see anything or __anyone __hurt her again. If I were you, I would pay very close attention to what I'm saying to you now. You hurt her, I'll hurt you. Break her, and I will scatter your bones into the four winds. Understand?" Kurama's words might as well have been uttered by another dragon from the North.

Ryuunosuke nodded his head slowly. He had been biting his tongue, now bleeding thanks to his exposed fangs. He didn't bother to look at Kurama as he walked away. His footsteps were almost in time with Ryuunosuke's pounding heartbeat.

Yui hummed. She stirred and her eyes fluttered open.

"R-Ryuu-kun?" She touched his face. "Is something wrong? You look scared."

He shook himself and put on a brave smile. "I was just worried for you. That's all. I'll take you home."


	14. Chapter 14

Yui kept worrying that her legs would give out from underneath her. They felt worse than jello. They were like liquid. If it wasn't for Ryuunosuke's arm snaked around her waist, she was sure she might have fell to his feet. Her cheeks were burning and there was an almost unbearable heat going straight to her head. She should have stopped this; pushed him away. For whatever reason, Yui couldn't bring herself to do it. She had never been kissed by a boy.

Like a thunder bolt striking her in the chest, the sudden realization that her first kiss was with Ryuunosuke, a boy who was very likely one of her kind, hit her suddenly. The world might have been destroyed and crumbled all around them, but as long as his lips were on hers, Yui probably wouldn't care less. He was the first to make her heart sing. He was the only person who could understand her completely. It was because he was just like her. She should have known when she first saw those beautiful blue eyes of his. Ryuunosuke's eyes were like the sea after a storm. His real hair, it felt so soft under her finger tips.

Suddenly, Ryuunosuke broke away from the kiss. His face was just as red as hers.

"Ryuu-kun?" Yui panted.

He pressed his finger against her lips.

"I have something very important to tell you, but I'm sure you already know. Like you, I am not exactly human. My mother and I are...originally from the Makai. My father abandoned my mother and I when I was a very small child, leaving us defenseless. Lord Koenma has allowed us to live here, disguised, in order to be safe. We've been wandering over Japan looking for a place to live. Mother sensed a familiar presence in the city. I can only assume now that the familiar aura she felt was coming from you. I hold no personal grudge against humans, but they have not made us welcome by them either. You have no idea how relieved I was to actually find you, Yui Kagami."

"Ryuu-kun..." Yui thought she might burst into tears then and there. She looked into his eyes and felt something suddenly click. All she had to do was look into his dark silver-blue eyes and know that she was safe.

Ryuunosuke reached out and touched her face, cupping her cheek. His thumb brushed away a tiny icicle that had formed against her will.

"I am still rather unfamiliar with human customs, but would you allow me the honor to be by your side for however long it pleases you?"

__Are you alright?__

__You should be more careful.__

Yui shook her head. She couldn't be thinking about Kurama at a time like this. She looked Ryuunosuke straight in the eye.

"I-I think I would like that very much."

Ryuunosuke went to wrap his arms around her when the cell phone in her pocket spoiled the moment by blaring. She timidly apologized and reached into her jacket pocket to retrieve the device. Pressing the call button, her ear was assaulted by the old woman on the other end of the call.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?!"

"I-I'm sorry, Genkai. I lost...track of time. I was distracted."

As if excuses would work on the old woman.

"I don't care if a house fell on your sister! Get your wimpy ass over here before I come down this mountain and get you myself!" The call ended immediately.

"Who was that?" Ryuunosuke sounded perturbed.

"Just, um, my..." Yui didn't know if she should be honest or not. "My __grandmother__."

Ryuunosuke shot her a disbelieving look complete with a unimpressed pout and a quirked brow.

"Alright, alright." She never was a very good liar. "She's this woman who's been helping me with something, and I missed my session with her yesterday. I can see why's she so angry today. I'd better go before I get in more trouble."

Still very red in the face, Yui attempted to brush past Ryuunosuke. She was nervous to Genkai, perhaps it would be truthful to say that she was almost afraid of going up to meet her after a phone call like that. Before she could get far, Yui felt Ryuunosuke's hand gently grab her arm.

"If you need help with anything, don't hesitate to come to me first. No matter what it is, I'll be there to help you." He assured her and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"T-thank you, Ryuu-kun." He released her and she fled for Genkai's, heart pounding so loud in her chest that she couldn't contain the rapid beating.

* * *

Yui didn't quite remember how she got home that day after training. She didn't know how she paid for the bus fair and walked home from the stop near her street or how she managed to change out of her gross, sweaty clothes and flop like a limp doll unto her bed. She wasn't even sure how the covers were pulled over her.

What she did know and remember was the sharp tingly spines dancing across her skin and through the deepest sinews of her muscles. She knew well the deep ache that was seeded and planted in her flesh, through her muscles, then to her bones, and even into her blood stream. Was it a fine layer of sweat coating her skin or was it a fine layer of pain that Genkai generously applied when she made the girl toil and sweat in conditions that would have seemed barbaric to Yui's people, the dragons in the north. There was sweat in places that she recoiled in disgust from. It wasn't that she was unfamiliar with physical pain. The scars on her back and the tiny, barely visible one around her throat were proof enough. However, Genkai seemed to have taken it to a whole new level. It was likely that the old woman was so P. O'd at the girl that she concocted a scheme that would keep Yui from missing another day of training. Working the girl to the point where she couldn't remember how she got home was the punishment. If Yui wasn't weary of old women by then, she certainly was now.

In her dreams, once again she found herself on that snowy hill top with nothing but a black sky above her. Yui followed the same sequence of events as before. She gently slid down the hillside until she reached the flat valley. Dusting the white snow from her dark kimono, Yui followed the path through the grove of black trees with their crooked branches like creeping fingers stretching towards her. The snow fell lightly on her head and shoulders, leaving a fine dusting of the stuff.

This time, however, there was no weight around her neck. Pale fingers went to her throat but they found no chain. Yui darted her eyes around to see if she could find the white fox. She stopped and searched for the creature to no avail. There wasn't even the smallest sign of the fox anywhere. There were no footprints in the virgin snow. She was the only person or creature standing in the middle of the grove. Branches creaked in the wind, groaning and moaning. Yui wrapped her arms around herself. It was a small comfort. The realization that she was completely isolated worried her, frightened her even. Even if she was in control of her dreams, being isolated in this dismal place was not quite a dream but a nightmare. She had never known that isolation could be so bitter. A note she would remember for later.

Something twinkled up ahead. Was it the sapphire eyes set in her medallion? Yui ran towards the twinkling light in spite of the fact that it could be a trap. Like a moth drawn to the flame, she was driven towards the bright, shining object. Something roused into life. It was such a strange feeling for Yui to be so attracted to a glittering object. She had never considered herself to be a materialistic person, yet..and yet she couldn't resist chasing after this thing, whatever it may be through the grove.

Her legs carried far, much farther than she could have managed in a real formal kimono. She found herself in that familiar clearing with a giant tree with its trunk twisted as if a giant had rung it without uprooting it from the ground. Great boulders still enclosed the tree around all sides. However, if she was still looking for the fox, Yui would be greatly disappointed. Neither the strange fox nor the shining object, she had never really thought about what it could be but merely ran after it with an instinctual need to hunt for it, was seen. Yui was dreadfully alone. A breeze brushed her cheek with the gentleness of a mother's caress. A chill ran down her spine. Why not? It was only a dream.

Yui must have stood there for what must have been hours. She neither moved nor turned. Her spirits were a little crushed. Her dreams had always been vivid and strange, but this one felt like it was trying to be a repeat performance. Most of the elements were there, but her co-star seemed to be missing in action. Where could that fox be?

The sound of crunching snow met her ears. Yui whipped around towards the direction of the sound, her hair blowing wildly in the wind. The shadows were heavy, however she could faintly see a tall figure approaching. It looked to be the shadow of a lean man, lean but not feeble. There was power for sure. Yui could feel it all the way into her bones. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. The atmosphere became denser as thick energy coming off this man poured into the air she breathed. She was practically choking on it. Her legs felt like they were about to give way, but she could not move them. Not even a little, not even the smallest centimeter. She stood there like a statue and watched the male figure edge slowly towards her. He must have seen her, and thought to tease her by taking such slow, deliberate steps. He was torturing her. She knew not if this man was friend or foe. He knew that too. She wondered if he could hear the sound of her heart beating away inside the chest. It was hammering away like a bird trying to escape its cage. Her blood too was throbbing, beating hard and fast against her veins.

A throaty laugh shattered the near silence. The dark fog lifted. His form could be seen more clearly. He was a man dressed in a white tunic, loose-fitting pants, and flat shoes that almost looked like loafers. He was almost as pale as she was. His pure silver hair was contrasted by the molten gold in his eyes. Casting a glance at her, the heat he bore inside of those eyes of his were enough to have Yui trembling. From fear or something else entirely, she didn't know what it was. Her lips opened partially, but she could not find words. She picked her brain for them, searching frantically. Too late. She was lost in his eyes, in his movements, in the way he walked like he was king of the world and how his laugh was so hypnotic it was worrisome. In his clawed hand, he held the object she was looking for. Yui managed to snap her eyes away from his and found her precious medallion knotted in his hand. The chain was wrapped around his wrist and fingers while he clutched the medallion itself tightly in his palm.

Neither one of them said a word. He was too busy making his way over to where she was. She was too busy standing there like a bump on a log. He was holding her medallion and she was doing nothing! This was why she hated herself sometimes. She was too weak. She didn't fight back.

He was coming closer. The taut muscles in his bare arms were all the more visible now that he was closer than before. His movements were calculated with an air of a predator. He was simply stalking his prey, but who could that be?

Oh, wait...

Yui felt the heat of her blush spread to all of her face. She couldn't help it. He kept looking at her with those eyes. It looked like he was going to eat her. Wouldn't that be ironic for a dragon? Irony aside, Yui had to come up with an idea and fast. This man was dangerous. She could smell it on him. Wait. Since when could she smell __danger__? With a mental shrug, she chalked it once more to it being just a dream.

Now he was right on top of her! While she was needlessly worrying about irony and whether or not this was a dream, he had closed the gap between them. It was no great task for the likes of him. Yui swallowed hard as his other hand reached towards her. She leaned away from his touch. However, she found that her legs seemed to be frozen to the spot. She couldn't simply evade him as if she had power of her limbs like she would in the waking world. His claws gently raked her cheek. His touch, however, was like that of someone catching a cherry blossom. The flower being so delicate and passing, he touched her with the same degree of gentleness. He cupped her cheek, to which she gasped at the sudden action. At which point, Yui was able to find her voice again.

"I-I have a boyfriend. I don't think he would appreciate you touching me." She glared at him, but it only seemed to turn him on.

Another throaty chuckle escaped him as his thumb brushed her quivering lips.

"Then I shall have to steal you from him." Without further warning, he planted a kiss on her lips.

His prying tongue brushed her lips even as she fought to resist him. When she refused to yield to him, his hands made their way to the back of her head and roughly fist her hair between his fingers, entangling the silken threads so that if she tried to turn in any direction, she would end up ripping out her own hair. The sharp gasp he elicited pried open her mouth, against her will, and his animal tongue swept over the cavern of her mouth.

"__Yui, time for school!" __A familiar voice called out from the darkness.

Hot, sweaty, and embarrassed Yui shot out of bed like she had been having a nightmare. She checked her face her hands. Her cheeks were piping hot. Mao came without so much as the common courtesy as to knock before entering.

"Why are you still in bed? Shouldn't you be dressed by now?" Then Mao looked at her sister's state.

Quickly crossing the room, Mao sat on her sister's bed and placed her hand on Yui's forehead.

"Oh my gosh," she gasped. "You're burning up!" She sprang from the bed and ran out of the room.

Confused, Yui sat there until both Mao and her mom arrived. Mrs. Kagami was carrying a thermometer in one hand a plastic bag of ice in the other.

"Mom, I'm-" There wasn't much as else to say when Mrs. Kagami rudely stuck the thermometer into Yui's mouth.

"Hold that under your tongue," she instructed and then place the bag of ice over Yui's forehead.

After a moment or two, the thermometer beeped. Mrs. Kagami removed it, clucking her tongue.

"Twenty-nine degrees Celsius. You're not going anywhere." She pushed on Yui's shoulders until she was laying back down in bed.

"But I feel perfectly fine. Just a little warm. Really. There's no need for me to skip school." Yui tried to sit up in bed and pull her legs out from under the thin blanket.

Mrs. Kagami would have none of that. She pushed Yui back down again, even going so far as to pin her there.

"You're too hot. Maybe you need to move you bed away from the window or get a fan in here. You know that your body can't go above sixteen degrees. I want you to stay in bed until your fever breaks. Promise me."

Mrs. Kagami knew that because Yui was such a good natured person and would never do anything dishonest in respect to her mother, the girl could not refuse. Yui sighed, but nodded reluctantly. Mrs. Kagami pulled up the blankets until Yui was lying in bed with just a sheet on top of her. The blankets were taken away and dumped into the hamper on the other side of the room. Her mother stood in the doorway and handed out instructions like her daughter was one of her subordinates.

"I want you to stay in bed, understand? Keep a bag of ice over your forehead and take a cold shower later, if you feel up to it. Stay away from hot foods and drink a lot of fluids. Alright?"

Yui nodded silently. Mrs. Kagami then turned to Mao who was still in the room.

"This is the first time you're going to have to help me with this. Yui's body is much different from ours. She can't handle too much heat. You have to make sure to take her temperature. I have to work late tonight so I'll call around six to check up on you guys. Keep her away from heat. No hot tea." She stated firmly.

"Right." Mao nodded this time.

"Feel better, Yui," Mrs. Kagami left quickly to go to work.

Mao looked at Yui. Her face was entirely flushed but she seemed to handle Mom's coddling very well.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine by tomorrow."

"Just out of curiosity, how cold does your temperature get?" Mao wondered as she started walking towards the door.

Yui took a moment to think before answering.

"Usually my body temperature is around sixteen or fourteen degrees Celsius. Anything above that, even if it's just twenty, I can't handle it very well. On the other hand, this happens sometimes if I stay out too long in the sun or warm weather."

"Like you did yesterday, when you went to Genkai's?"

Yui nodded. "That's probably what happened."

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Mao asked again.

"I'll be fine. By tomorrow morning, my fever will be gone. Be sure to get my homework for me before you leave school."

"Don't worry. I've got." Mao chuckled, trying to reassure her sister that she had her back. "I'll tell Kurama you said hi. Is that okay?"

"A-and Ryuu-kun too. I didn't get a chance to get his number. Can you get that for me as well?" Yui asked nervously.

* * *

Mao hesitated in answering. She chewed her lip and looked away from her sister for just a short moment. Yui seemed so excited over this guy. Mao couldn't crush her sister's dreams about romance, especially when she had a fever. She quickly looked back at her sister and forced the widest, brightest smile she could force upon herself.

"Sure thing."

Mao put her shoes away and slammed the locker door shut.

"Where is your sister?"

Mao turned, facing Kurama.

"She had a fever this morning and Mom told her to stay home. Genkai probably worked her too hard yesterday."

"Will she be alright?"

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess."

Kurama looked at Mao more closely. The worry lines in her forehead were deep and her brows were nearly made a V-shape. Her gaze was hard.

"Does this upset you?"

Mao ground her teeth. "It's not that."

"Then what is it?" He asked.

She motioned to something or someone over his shoulder. Kurama turned is head to find Ryuunosuke busy changing shoes himself. There was taunting thrown his way. Instead of black hair, a choppy head of white locks stood in it's place. The boy was too focused, either that or he plainly ignored the bullies surrounding him. Kurama had to admit, Ryuunosuke was bold. The kid wasn't even trying to blend in.

"What about Ryuunosuke?" Kurama didn't understand Mao's apprehension.

"Yui wants me to say hi to him, for her. I don't like him." She grumbled.

"I believe you've mentioned that a few times." He chuckled.

Mao's school bag hit in the stomach. "Shut it."

She stormed towards Ryuunosuke, the whole time chewing on the inside of her mouth. Ryuunosuke Maruyama, she hated him. She didn't know why, she just did. Just being close or near him or in the same building as him made her skin crawl. There wasn't anything particularly repulsive about the boy. He was quiet and tended to mind his business. Maybe it was the way he smiled? He looked devious. Was it that little twinkle in his eye whenever Yui was around? He must be planning something. Men with eyes like that always were planning something.

Ryuunosuke barely acknowledged her presence. She was forced to clear her throat in order to grab his attention. He looked up after stuffing some papers into his bag. He looked past her shoulder and around her.

"Where's Yui?" He asked

__You rude motherf-__

"She's home sick today." Mao answered bluntly.

"Will she be okay?"

"What does it matter to you?"

Ryuunosuke's eyes narrowed. "She's my girlfriend, that's why."

Kurama had just brushed Mao when Ryuunosuke had answered her question. Kurama suddenly stopped. He smiled and tried to ignore that last phrase that came out of Ryuunosuke's mouth.

"Mao, would you come with me for a moment?" He reached out to touch her shoulder.

She quickly shrugged him off. Mao was too busy glaring at the boy in front of her.

"Can you repeat that for me?" She pretended to clean her ear with her pinky finger. "I think I had something in my ear. Say that again."

"I said," Ryuunosuke returned the favor with a more powerful glare, "That your sister is my girlfriend. We talked yesterday after the __incident__. We're seeing each other."

"Oh, really," Mao put her hands on her hips. "Considering you don't know where she lives or what her cell phone number is."

"Really," Ryuunosuke reached for something in his bag and whipped out his cell phone. His thumb tapped madly on the keys. Stopping suddenly, he turned the phone around so Mao could read the list of his contact numbers.

Clear as day: Yui Kagami 012-XXX-XXX

In disbelief, Mao grabbed the phone from him. Her eyes were glued to the screen. Her mouth hung open so wide a fly might have been able to land on her tongue and she wouldn't have noticed it.

"When did this happen?" She shrieked.

Ryuunosuke finally took back his phone. "Probably on the same day I walked her home. _A___fter_____w_e had dinner together the other day."

Collecting his things, Ryuunosuke angrily sauntered away. Kurama touched Mao's shoulder.

"That little creep!" Mao growled.

"I'm beginning to think that your opinion of him is entirely unfounded." Kurama remarked.

"Shut up," Mao pushed him out of her way and stormed away to her first class.

Kurama was left alone to sigh, exasperated and little worried.

* * *

Yui did just as her mother said to. She hadn't moved very much except to get water, go to the bathroom, and grab a book to read. She sat up in bed with her back against the wall to read a little light reading she picked up from the bookstore a while ago. What she considered 'light' reading and what others considered 'light' were two entirely different things. There were those who would argue that a seven hundred page book on the history of Medieval European castles may be a bit too ambitious, even for a high school student. But how was she supposed to practice English without source material. More to the point, she only read a few of the chapters. She skipped over the ones that held no interest for her. There was something about strong yet delicate curves of a perfectly crafted arches that piqued her artist interest.

She had just finished a chapter on French forts in the time of Joan of Arc, when a knock at her bedroom window called for attention. At first she thought it was a pesky bird dropped a large seed or kids throwing pebbles. Yui took away the sheets covering her legs and moved to the window. Pulling back the curtain, she gasped.

"Ryuu-kun!" Yui quickly threw back the curtains and fought against the sticky locks on her window.

"I heard you weren't feeling well today, so I decided to drop by." He climbed inside without further ado.

"How did you get up here?" Yui peeked out of the window.

"A ladder." Ryuunosuke answered jokingly.

Yui looked out and saw that he indeed used a ladder to climb up to her window. Made of sparkling ice. Romeo had nothing on him.

"Did anybody see you?" Yui pulled herself away from the windowsill.

Ryuunosuke sat down on the bed and pulled her into his lap. He petted her hair to make her feel better.

"Nobody saw me. Even if somebody looked now, all they'll see a regular ladder." He put his hand to her forehead. A blast of cold air erupted from his palm. Yui couldn't help but lean closer to it, feeling a rush of delightfully cold wind chill her high temperature. "Better?"

She nodded shyly. The cold wind that came from Ryuunosuke's hand would only do so much. Her face was already turning red and heated from her blush.

"Why didn't you go to the front door? We have one of those you know."

Ryuunosuke climbed to the foot of the bed so that he rested where she had been a few moments ago. He settled her against his chest, her back towards him, before kicking off his shoes.

"I didn't want you to get up. If you're sick, you should move as little as possible." He kept his cold hand on her forehead.

"You don't have to worry so much. I was doing just fine. I wouldn't have minded getting up and letting you in."

"I would mind." Kissing the side of her head, Ryuunosuke made himself comfortable with her in his arms.

They must have been laying there for a while. Eventually, Yui began to hear him snore lightly behind her. She snuggled against him, placing her ear against her heart.

* * *

"Thanks for walking me home, Kurama." Mao despite her lightened mood still looked she had murder on the brain. Her mood only improved after Ryuunosuke complained of a stomach ache after lunch and went home early.

"I think you just needed to vent your frustrations at someone."

She spent half of the journey doing nothing but complain about the new student at school. It was enough to make a man mad or his ears bleed. Mao certainly knew how to go on and on about something. If only there was a job where she could be a professional ranter, she would never lose a living wage.

"Not my fault." She refused to blame anyone else for her bad attitude today. Perhaps if Yui hadn't asked her to do something Mao hated most of all, then maybe the girl wouldn't be in such a horrid mood.

"You have yet to come with some solid evidence."

"Would you shut up about that! I'm working on it."

"If you say so," he snickered. Mao's detective skills weren't the best in the world. Kurama thought, reluctantly, that Ryuunosuke had nothing to fear.

Mao didn't say anything for a while. Kurama looked to find the girl deep in thought. Her face was set with worry lines. Her hard stare was rock solid. There wasn't anything that could shake it.

"You would be suspicious too if you had a younger sister was falling in love with a complete stranger. She's...Yui is...too kind for her own good. I'm not saying she's dumb, but she can be too trusting sometimes and I would even go far as to say a little naive. She might cling to him too quickly and end up getting her. I'm just trying to protect her from that."

"You're only the older sister by five minutes. You don't need to take responsibility for your sister. I think she's capable of taking care of herself." Kurama remarked.

"Ten minutes, thank you very much," Mao scoffed, giving him the stink eye.

"I'm sorry. Ten minutes older than your sister."

"Five or ten minutes older, it doesn't matter. The point is that I'm the eldest and it's my job to make sure she's going to be alright. You're an only child. You wouldn't understand what it means to protect your family."

Kurama sighed and looked down at his feet. He walked ahead of her.

"Hey! Wait! Was it something I said?" Mao had to run to catch up to him.

* * *

Koenma drummed his finger angrily on his desk. He didn't like what he was seeing on his screen.

"As you can see, Sir, we have four energy signatures within an eighty kilometer distance around the city. These don't include the signatures of Kurama and Hiei. Those that you are seeing now are signatures that belong to dragons." George the Ogre read off the report in his clawed hands.

Koenma hummed, irritated. He was having a good day. He had a nice, restful sleep, had a good breakfast, and even his paper work didn't seem all that bad. However, he found himself stuck in a foul mood when George mentioned the words "Unregistered Dragon in a Restricted Area." Oh sure, dragons were easy to get along with, if you follow their way unless you wanted a mountain crumbled or an entire village flattened. That wasn't even the worst that they could do. Put a dragon in the mood, and they'll devour anything. Thankfully, they didn't have a taste for human flesh. On the other hand, dealing with an entire massacre of demons and allowing some of the them to be digested by an overgrown lizard could be just as troublesome. The ogre continued reading.

"Three of these signatures belong to dragons that we already knew were in the area." Photographs of the aforementioned people appeared on the screen as George called off their names. "Yui Kagami, age fifteen, Ryuunosuke Maruyama, age fifteen, Yukiji Maruyama, age one-hundred seventy-four. All members or descendants of the Northern Clan."

The screen switched back to the map of the city where four blue dots marked certain areas. The size of the dot correlated to the power of the person. Two of them were relatively small. Dragons didn't start out all that powerful when they were born. It made sense that the energy signatures of Ryuunosuke and Yui were that small. One of the dots was a bit bigger. It stayed with the bounds of the city, near the high school to be exact. This must have been Yukiji's. However, the energy signature that caught Koenma's attention lay just beyond the inner city limits. It was big, glaring blue dot just within a few miles of Genkai's temple. If the dot's size was relative to the dragon's power, then there was much to fear about the thing lingering in the forest. The energy signature could only tell him how powerful the demon was, not where it came from. They were able to manage filtering out all other kinds of demons. They didn't expect a fourth dragon to settle down so close to a human population if others of his or her own kind were present. You see, there was a very good reason to be afraid of dragons, even if they willingly chose not to eat humans. Dragons, by nature, were __highly ___t_erritorial. That's why one so rarely saw them grouped together in the human world. There was more land to go around in the human world, which meant that there were many more opportunities to fight over it. If it meant squashing an entire city, dragons would do so just prove dominance over land and all its resources. Four dragons in one place...Koenma shuddered to think about the chaos and mayhem that would take place if and when a showdown took place over a patch of land. The entire city would be either flattened or covered in a death shroud of ice and snow. He doubted even Yusuke would be able to stop it in time.

"What are our options?" He folded his hands together and brought them to his lips.

"All of those treaties that your father signed centuries ago have limited our choices in what we can do..." George started to rant on, listlessly continuing a conversation on the history of dragons and the Spirit World in which only he was a participant in.

Yes, you have heard it right. There were approximately one-hundred forty-two laws listing in great detail what the Spirit World may or may not do in regards to dragons. The ancient dragons, though they had all died long before the present, had made deals with Enma in order to gain land both in the demon and human world. Unfortunately for the ruler of the Netherworld, they were cunning and took advantage of Enma's willingness to work with them. They never had a taste for human flesh, a trait that Enma thought he could benefit from. He was able to use dragons in his armies to conquer land in the Makai much faster than before. In return, they were able to take bigger chunks for themselves. By the time it was all over, dragons were nearly untouchable in the eyes of Spirit World law. One of those laws stated that Koenma couldn't forcibly relocate a dragon from its home. Yusuke wouldn't be able to stand up to one unless it was significantly weak. This, alas, was not the case.

* * *

"Congratulations," Minorin pushed a manila folder into Botan's chest. "It's an ice dragon."

"Ice dragon?" Botan opened the folder to have a look for herself. The DNA matched a recent refugee who had come with his mother from the farthest northern point in the Makai. There were certainly a lot of them, weren't there.

"Yep, looks like it. Your boy hasn't reached adulthood yet, but considering that he's fifteen, I'd give it another six to nine months before he makes the big change. Dragons from the Norther Clan tend to reach adulthood between sixteen and eighteen years old. That kid may or may not turn out to be a late bloomer, on the other hand. I'm just giving you the facts I was able to find."

Botan closed the file. "Thank you so much. I hope it wasn't too much trouble for you."

Minorin shrugged her shoulders. "It's been slow lately. I was able to get it done faster than I thought. At least I'm not working with the department across the hall. The guys who monitor demon energy signatures."

"I heard that can be pretty boring," Botan giggled.

"Recently, they've found something peculiar."

"Like what?"

Minorin leaned closer to Botan and whispered as if she didn't want other people to hear it. Botan did in fact leave the door open a crack.

"Rumor has it that there's a __fourth __dragon lurking around the spirit detective's hometown."

"You're kidding!" Botan gasped.

"I wish I was. That thing's got the signature department in a tizzy. They don't know what clan it comes from or how long it's been there. They're worried it might try to start a territory war with the others in the area. But you didn't hear it from me. We don't need people working around here thinking that they'll have to work overtime if a couple of dragons decide to kill each other in a populated human city."

Botan now understood why it would upset the tracking and signature department. No offense to Yui, but dragons were a pain to handle.

"Again, thank you so much." Botan started for the door.

"Just remember. You didn't get __that __from me."

* * *

Mao dumped her bag on the floor and discarded her shoes, not caring if they were properly put away. She silently walked to her sister's room to check on her. Her stomach must have dropped into her intestines and her heart leap into her throat after she caught sight of Ryuunosuke in her sister's bed. He looked so disgustingly comfortable with Yui trapped in his arms. Yui's cheeks were a faint pink color. Her blush had nothing to do with her fever it seemed. The teenagers were napping quietly. Their snoring was light, although Yui had always been bad when it came to that sleeping habit.

"I hope you two plan on waking up any time soon or do you plan on letting Mom see you like this?" Mao stated bluntly. She wanted to reach for a lamp and smack Ryuunosuke in the head with it, but not with Yui in the room. Her violent thoughts must be kept to herself. For now.

The two of them stirred uneasily. Yui's blush darkened when she saw her sister standing in the bedroom doorway.

"So, it was your ladder that's sitting outside? Don't you know that we have a back door you can sneak in? You know, just to make it easier next time. Won't be so obvious."

Yui shot her a nasty look. "Mao, enough. Ryuunosuke was worried about me. He didn't want me to get the door so he used the ladder to climb up to my window."

"Whatever," said Mao sourly.

Yui climbed out of bed while Ryuunosuke continued to try to rouse himself from the nap.

"Is there a problem here?" She asked Mao.

"No. No problems at all." Mao reached for the door, slammed it shut, and left for her room.

__Stomp, stomp, slam.__

Yui winced when Mao's bedroom door was shut in such a manner. She didn't know what was going on. Was Mao jealous? It was possible that they bullying was starting to get to her. Mao wasn't used to it. Yui hoped that her sister would be okay.

"Are you okay?" Ryuunosuke had his arms around Yui's waist.

"Yeah, but it's my sister I'm worried about."


	15. Chapter 15

Once they were off school grounds, Yui insisted that he let her down. She didn't like how people were staring at them. Reluctantly, Ryuunosuke obliged. He at least managed to get to take his hand and lean towards him the whole way there. She bashfully accepted but couldn't help but think he was hiding something from her. The frown lines were deep around his mouth as if he was thinking too hard about whatever was on his mind. It had him worried, which made Yui worried. When he refused to talk nearly the whole way there, she was sure to be concerned about his well-being.

"Ryuu-kun, is something wrong? What's bothering you?" She squeezed his hand, pulling him to a stop.

They were alone on the sidewalk. The blue sky was slowly fading into orange, the sunset bleeding all sorts of warm colors into the early autumn sky. Ryuunosuke turned his head and chose to look away from her. Blushing, Yui reached out to touch his face. His other hand suddenly seized her by the wrist but didn't pull it away.

"Ryuu-kun, you're scaring me."

Her whispered words seem to have gotten to him. Ryuunosuke loosened the grip he had on her hand. He slowly turned. Yui couldn't help the gasp that escaped her when she looked into his eyes. They were practically glowing. The air seemed just a tad cooler than before, but that might have been her imagination. He looked so stern and serious. It was like he was a completely different person.

"I don't want you to train with Genkai anymore."

"W-what? How did you find out?"

"Your sister told me." He squeezed her hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it. "If you want to learn how to use your powers, then come to me. I can show you what to do with them."

Yui stood there, flabbergasted. This is what she wanted, right? Who better to teach her than another dragon like herself? Then again, she did owe Genkai for the wet fire wood. On the other hand, she was not obligated to teach Yui anything and there were ways she could make up for the firewood than going to her place every day after school. Training her just seemed to be more of a burden to the elderly woman.

"Do you not trust me?"

Shocked, Yui answered. "Of course I trust you!"

"Then will you let me teach you?"

Biting her lip, Yui nodded slowly.

Ryuunosuke pulled her into a tight hug. She felt his hand run through her hair. For a moment, she thought she felt sharp claws gently glide against her scalp. It shouldn't have surprised her. They were both dragons, weren't they? Even if she didn't have any yet, or any at all, it should have surprised her that he had some of his own. Perhaps he could show them to her?

"Let's get you home." He had her against the rest of the way there as if he was afraid she would be snatched away from him.

The house was surprisingly empty. Mao would have been home by now. She was probably out with Kurama or out to find new friends. Although, with the display Yui did in front of everybody, the latter latter was highly unlikely. Just thinking about made Yui nauseous. In retrospect, it wasn't her best idea. Ryuunosuke noticed her stillness as she stood in the front doorway, pausing like she was deep in thought.

"Yui, are you alright?" He touched her shoulder.

"I'm just...not sure how I feel right now."

"What do you mean?"

She turned all the way around. Her hand grasped the white hair that was flowing freely.

"It's been over thirty minutes since I took it off. I feel naked without my wig. I feel...I feel like I just shed my skin, like a snake, and the person underneath is not me. I-I," there were tears threatening to make their way out, whether she liked it or not. Icicles crackled as they glided down her rosy cheeks.

Ryuunosuke quickly pulled her into another hug. His fingers became knotted in her hair.

"Believe me when I say that you're not a snake. The person you've been hiding...is you. Only you can be you. Only you can be Yui Kagami, the girl I __love__. You couldn't be anyone else. You're scared, I know, but I'm here now. I won't leave you."

Slowly, Yui encased him in her arms. There was nobody around to judge them.

"Would you like to come inside?" It was already too late to stop herself. The words, they just fell out of her mouth like they each had a mind of their own. Her tongue moved on its own accord.

"Are you sure about that?"

Yui nodded.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Kurama asked for the second time.

He and Mao stood on an unfamiliar street outside an unfamiliar house. It looked just like any other house, just as normal and plain as any other up and down the street. There was no aspect that made it stand out above the rest despite the fact that a dragon lay inside. There was no obvious signs that a demon was present within. Ryuunosuke and his mother certainly went to great lengths to conceal their presence. If she didn't know any better, she would have walked past this house and not notice a thing wrong with it.

"You want to get to the bottom of this don't you?"

"Not really. I'm just here to make sure you don't get yourself in serious trouble."

Mao groaned. "You heard what he said to you, right? And you've heard what he said to me, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Botan the other day, right? I'm not out to prove that I'm right. I'm out to get that creep away from my sister, but if you don't want to help, fine by me. You can either stay out here and be my look out or you can go home. I don't care which you chose!"

Kurama sighed. Mao was as stubborn as they came. Yusuke would be proud of her resilience, but at this point he was growing very tired of it. He only had so much patience. He could have easily slipped away and not taken part in the act of breaking and entering that she had proposed once they sneaked out of the school, avoiding the crazy mob that tried to hound them with questions. It was a much more difficult task than he expected but he had about three hundred years worth of maneuvering skills and cunning. He far outranked a bunch of curious teenagers. Mao tagged behind him for protection. Once she saw where his real skills lay, not in test taking that's for sure, she concocted this scheme to get some dirt on Ryuunosuke and his mother. The plan was simple enough, as she put it. Get in, find some information, and get out. It might have been easy to her, however she was forgetting the one key factor in all of this was that it was likely that Ryuunosuke's mother was still at home and dragons typically didn't like having their territory invaded. Mao based her plan around the idea that every dragon would be like Yui. Kurama knew better, which was why he was here now. It would be difficult to explain to Yui how he let her sister become a frozen statue and not do anything to stop it from happening.

"Shall we?" She walked right up to the front door without batting an eyelash.

Mao rang the bell just as Kurama pulled up right behind her. The door was answered by a tall athletic woman. She had the same eyes as Ryuunosuke, silvery blue, and her hair was whiter than snow. Her skin was almost translucent.

"May I help you?" She seemed to not enjoy their presence on her porch.

"We're trying to find my sister. I was wondering if you could help. Is Ryuunosuke home by any chance?" Mao smiled broadly.

"He isn't here yet. You'll have to come back in the morning." The woman began closing the door but Mao grabbed it and pried it open.

"I don't think it can wait. She was supposed to be home, but she's not there. I've already checked. Are you sure we can't wait for Ryuunosuke to get here and ask him where she went." Mao's patience was wearing thin. There was only so much she could deal with.

"What's your sister's name?" The woman's eyes were slit down the middle. Dark pupils were sizing the girl up as if she had challenged her.

"Yui Kagami. I'm Mao and this is Kur-. I'm sorry, Shuichi. His name's Shuichi Minamino."

The woman's expression changed. She smiled but it wasn't a very nice one at that. Both Mao and Kurama noticed how it was forced and overly sweet. There were indeed daggers in that smile of hers. Oh, no, wait, those were fangs.

"Why don't you come inside then, if that's the case?" The door flung open to permit them entrance.

Ryuunosuke's mother escorted them inside without further ado, but immediately they felt the sheer emptiness inside. There wasn't just simply a lack of furniture one would expect new neighbors to have. No furniture at all rested inside the home. None, zero. There wasn't even a painting or a chair.

A powerful gust of wind shut the front door closed. As if moved by invisible hands, the locks clicked home, sealing Mao and Kurama inside. It was just as he feared. She was onto them, or else she had something up her sleeve. Mao ran to the door and tried to pry open the locks, but they wouldn't budge.

"Who are you?" Kurama asked. He placed deliberately placed himself between the woman and Mao.

"In the human world, I go by Yukiji Maruyama. Back home, I'm simply called Yukiji. And you must be Yoko Kurama. I've heard a lot about you."

"What do you want, Yukiji? Your son has almost given up your plans as it is. In fact, the other day he nearly spelled it out for us." Mao finally gave up on her attempts to unlock the door. The locks were frozen in place. There was no way for her to break them open unless she had a blowtorch handy.

"A little half-breed like you would never be able to understand the complexities of politics in the North," Yukiji whipped out a fan. She placed the closed fan over her lips. She had the most pompous pose and stance Mao had ever seen.

"Just who are you calling a half-breed, witch?" Mao might have charged for Yukiji if Kurama hadn't stopped her.

"It means just as I've said. If your father was a demon and your mother was a human, that makes you and your sister half breeds, though fortunately for her, she inherited more of your father's genetics than you did."

"Um, I hate to tell you this, but she's fully demon. People have said it before. I'm completely human and she's a full demon. Even if we were half-breeds, what does that matter, especially to someone like you?"

"Pedigree means everything to us dragons. It separates us from the common masses. I refuse to be in the same class those idiots in the Spirit World like to lump all demons into," Yukiji turned slightly towards Kurama, glaring solely at him.

Mao snorted. "Good for you. Now are you going to tell us what you two are doing here or do we have to kick in some of your teeth?"

Yukiji sneered with disgust written all over her face. "How crude. Just like a human. Your father could have done so much better."

"Oh yeah, like who?" Mao wanted to wipe that stupid smug look on Yukiji's face by any means necessary.

"Mao," Kurama grabbed her arm. "Stop antagonizing her."

"Listen to your friend, girl. It may keep you alive. As for my purpose here, as you can tell," they all glanced around the room she gestured to with her arms out, "this is not a home. We're here only temporarily. I never had any intentions of living in this world. We brought ourselves here because my lord has ordered us to bring one of our own back into the fold. He has need of an heir, and Yui will serve as the answer to his problems."

"W-what do you mean by that?" Mao felt her blood boil. There was no way this woman meant that Yui was supposed to... There was no way she meant for Yui to be turned over to some...No, no. Not Yui, anybody but her!

"Well, she is his niece after all. If he can't have a child, then he has no choice but to make her the next in line as head of the clan, no matter how unskilled or young she may be."

Mao breathed a sigh of relief. An invisible weight vanished from her shoulders.

"However," Yukiji tapped her fan impatiently.

"However?" Kurama repeated.

"However, Ryuunosuke wasn't supposed to actually fall for the girl. I warned him not to do something stupid. I see he takes after his father. Never does anything that he's told. She's not meant for him but she's seemed to have wormed her way into his heart, the foolish child. He's doomed their romance from the start. My Lord will not allow her to marry a commoner," she stopped to think on the matter bitterly. Then, the gears started turning in her head. "Then again, he might just reward us with the girl's return to the clan. If I play my cards right, I could become Lady of the North, replacing that old hag, Satsuki."

While Yukiji mused over the idea of usurping power for herself, Kurama carefully removed his hand from Mao's shoulder and reached towards the back of his neck.

"Mao, I need you to step several feet behind him." He whispered.

Mao quietly did as she was told but to her embarrassment he pulled out a simple rose.

"What the heck? I thought you were reaching for a knife or something! What are you gonna do with that? Seduce her!"

Kurama didn't flinch and didn't hesitate. The air was filled with an earthy and floral scent, a smell that was so sickly sweet that Yukiji noticed it right away. Her pale, clawed hand reached to cover her nose.

"What is that stench? It's too __sweet__!" She hissed, her voice muffled under her hand.

Thorns and razor sharp petals flew every which way. Arching his arm back, Kurama threw his signature attack with all his might.

* * *

"D-do you want some tea?" Yui ran to the kitchen and started fixing herself up some. A green tea blend is what she need now more than anything. Every nerve in her body was on high alert. She never had a boy over before, alone, all to herself. At least one that she liked so much.

"I'm fine. Thank you, though."

She continued to pour tea for herself. Her heart was pounding so hard, she thought Ryuunosuke could hear it. He probably did, which didn't help reduce the feverish level at which her cheeks were burning.

"Do you...want something to eat?"

"I'm not really hungry."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine." He was calm and collected, but his body language said the opposite of what he was saying. There was something wrong and he wasn't telling her a thing. She could always for him to answer her questions but where would that lead?

"Ryuu-kun..." She stopped short when she failed to notice the table chair leg her foot ran into, sending a tiny wave of pain up from her toe. Startled, the cup of hot tea in her hand was rattled, fell from its saucer, and splashed the front of her uniform. Her skin, thankfully, was protected by a layer of camisole underneath, however she couldn't walk around in a ruined uniform.

An embarrassed Yui quickly apologized and scurried off to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. A tidal wave of emotion nearly overwhelmed her. She was flustered, frustrated, humiliated, and angry. It felt like Ryuunosuke was giving her only half the answers she wanted. There was something on his mind. She knew it. Something was troubling him but he didn't think she was important enough to tell her what was going. That must have been it. There was nothing else to explain why he was acting the way he was.

Yui unbuttoned the uniform jacket and deposited the ruined thing into her hamper. She shuffled her way to her dresser for a clean shirt and some jean pants. She didn't hear the door swing quietly open.

"Yui?"

She bunched the shirt she had in her hands over her chest. Her back was to Ryuunosuke where he could see all of her scars. She had little choice in that matter. It was either show him her scars or let him see her chest. His footsteps were nearly as loud as her heartbeat.

"Yui," he sounded concerned. "What are those on your back?"

She didn't say anything for a while. Turning her eyes toward, her hair fell away from her shoulders, revealing more of the scars that marred her flesh.

"Yui, what are these? Why do you have so many scars on your back?"

Yui shook her head. Her throat seemed to close up. Words were running through her head a mile a minute but she couldn't say them. Her brain refused to function properly and the connection between it and her vocal chords were severed.

"Where did they come, Yui?" Ryuunosuke sounded angry, so she didn't say anything.

Suddenly, she found his fingers tracing some of the raw lines across her flesh. Yui gasped and felt tears beginning to bubble up in the corner of her eyes. Ryuunosuke was being so gentle, but that was hardly the point. He was looking her scars, examining them with his eyes and hands. He made no sign of disgust as he trailed his fingers lightly over the scars carved and burned into her flesh and bone. They hadn't completely healed yet. They were made worse when Genkai managed to send her flying across the ground. Pebbles would reopen some of the scars if she wasn't able to stop herself from falling. Ryuunosuke's breath started shaking. He was breathing harshly through his nose. Yui could feel his hand shaking as well.

"It was iron, wasn't it?" There was a hidden fury in his tone and voice.

Yui shivered under it. Slowly, she nodded her head.

His arms were like temple columns around her waist. Her knees buckled when his arms were wrapped around her bare stomach.

"R-ryuu-" She couldn't help but shake all over. The feeling of his hand on her stomach was too much for her.

"Let's run away together!" Ryuunosuke said loudly and boldly.

"What?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. Was she dreaming?

* * *

Yuki sipped from her fourth coffee cup for that afternoon. There was a pile of paperwork waiting for her approval on end of of the desk, another pile of papers waiting for her rejection on the other, and a stack of budget constraint files in the middle. There was a dangerous kind of throbbing in her frontal lobe. Her back hurt but there was no escape. At least, none she could think of.

There was a knock at her office door. Junko the secretary entered carrying a note.

"This came in for you earlier this afternoon."

Yuki took it, looked it over, and found no name or return address.

"Who's it from?"

Junko shrugged. "Don't know. It's probably from one of your kids. It was left in your mail box downstairs. I can ask if any of the mail room guys saw who put it there."

"You just want an excuse to see your boyfriend down there," Yuki chuckled.

Junko blushed and quietly shut the door behind her when she left. Left alone, Yuki grabbed a letter opener from her desk drawer and reclined in her chair. At least this would serve as a nice little break from paperwork. Her wrist was becoming numb with all of the signing and stamping she had been doing the past hour and a half. Her smile faded once she laid eyes on the letter. The throbbing in her frontal lobe was painful now. She hurriedly rose from her desk with the letter still in hand. Grabbing her jacket, the door was flung open. A startled Junko, who had barely been sitting in her chair for five minutes, was on the phone with a client. She put her hand over the receiver.

"Yuki, where are you going?"

"Out. Apparently, my mother-in-law is in town and wants to see me right away." Yuki growled.

* * *

The range of his rose whip was just long enough to reach Yukiji but short enough to keep Mao from getting cut by it when he arched his arm back. The overpowering scent of the flower was to his advantage. Apparently, dragons from the North didn't have a taste for roses. Unfortunately, Yukiji still saw his attack coming. She braced herself by putting up a shield of ice over her arm. Her shields were much stronger than Yui's, he didn't calculate properly, is what he hoped she thought. The whip managed to cut through the ice shield but now it was stuck. Ice encased the tip with a smirking Yukiji looking so smug.

"Is that the best Yoko Kurama can do now? Humans have corrupted you. There was a time I __might__ have been afraid of you. Now, you're just a pathetic shadow of your former self!"

Kurama stared blankly at her. That's when the thorns along the buried vine smashed through her shields. Mao saw the blood from Yukiji's arm seeping through the cracks in the ice. Thorns the size of knitting needles pierced not only through the ice but through Yukiji's flesh. She screamed both out of shock and pain. She couldn't rip the vine away unless she wanted to take her arm with it. All she could do was drop her fan and grip her injured arm at the elbow.

Kurama took the rose whip with both hands and gave it a mighty tug. The space separating him from Yukji was shortened, though the dragon put up a decent fight. He wrapped the vine over his knuckles as he pulled himself closer to her. It was like wrangling in an angry bull single handled. She may not have looked it but she was a big dragon to hold her weight as well she as she did. Her true form must have been impressive.

"Just who do you think you are!" Yukiji shrieked. "Don't you know not to meddle in the affairs of dragons!"

Kurama ignored her screaming. They pierced his ear drum. He hated to imagine what it would be like if she were to transform and let out an almighty roar in her real body. Once she was close enough, he grabbed her shoulder and forced her to the ground. There was a mixture of broken ice chips and blood all over the shag carpeting.

"Mao!" He called.

"Y-yes?" She was afraid to answer, unsure on how to do it in this situation.

"I need you to go into my bag and get me a metal file inside. It's not hard to find."

Mao nodded but didn't say anything as she went of his school bag he had thrown at her feet. She dived right in. She looked up to find Yukiji still struggling. Kurama wouldn't be able to hold her down for very long. Mao hurriedly rummaged through the contents of the bag. She had to remove several of his folders and booklets to find what she was looking for. After taking out most of the bag's contents, she found the file sitting at the bottom. It was at least a foot long, flat with ridges like a giant nail file, and it weighed just a little bit in her hand. Quickly returning the rest of the stuff inside, Mao gripped the file hard in her hand and ran to Kurama. She handed him the file but was afraid what he was going to do with it. Yukiji seemed to share the same fears. Her eyes widened at the sight of the metal object. She let herself become frozen with fear, her blue eyes were as large and wide as saucers.

"What is that?" Her voice trembled like a leaf in the wind.

"Mao, I think you should step outside for a while."

Both of the women shivered.

"What are you going to do with that?" Mao asked for herself.

"It's iron. I'm going to have Yukiji tell me everything she knows."

Mao grabbed his shoulder. "Iron? Do you know what that does to dragons like them, like my sister?"

There was no way he was ignorant of that fact. He treated Yui's scars himself. He had seen them etched so deeply into her flesh that it would take years before they faded.

His eyes narrowed. He had grown quite serious.

"I need you to step outside."

"No! Even if she is evil, you don't need to torture her with that to get answers. That will make you just as bad as those guys who did the same to Yui. Do you think she would like to know what you did for her? Can you imagine how she would feel knowing that you tortured someone from the same clan using iron, just as somebody else did to her? Please, reconsider!"

Yukiji saw the hesitation in his eyes. Though her arm was in excruciating pain, she let herself chuckle. If anything she could still screw with his mind a little.

"The great Yoko Kurama is being talked down to by a mere human girl. What a joke! She makes it sound like you care so much for her sister! But would you do it? If you cared so much for that girl's opinion, would you? Can you swallow your emotions as if you were one of us and burn my flesh off with a piece of iron?"

At that moment, he wanted nothing more than see Yukiji bleed. That was his baser nature talking. He was more rational than that, he thought. Everything that spilled from Yukiji's mouth was rotten and foul. It wasn't her insults towards him that he took so much offense to. Yukji constantly insulted Yui in front of him.__That __he took offense to. It should not have bothered him so much. They were friends after all, right? They had grown together thanks to Genkai's training. He started to find things out about her that he wouldn't have been able to find before. Her smile, he came to realize, bespoke of a nature not found in the Makai. The longer they spent together, the more he felt the need to protect her with all his strength, just like for his human mother. They were just friends, __right__?

Kurama was about to drop the file from his hand when a voice came from the foyer like a thunder clap over a frozen tundra. Mao and Kurama whipped their heads in that direction, finding it thrown open and a woman was standing in the entrance. She moved forward with a slow yet elegant kind of grace. None of her movements were made by accident. She was tall, buxom, and with skin white as her hair. Her lips were perfectly painted. The top part of her hair was pulled into a bun and held together with shining silver ornaments. The sapphire and glass beads dangling from her hair sticks clinked as she moved. Her silver and black kimonos were pulled down from her shoulders, revealing smooth curves and a beautiful long neck decorated with a glowing blue bead on a tiny silver chain.

"Y-yui?" Mao stammered. The likeness was incredible. Who else could it be?

* * *

"W-what?" Yui stopped breathing. At least, she thought she did.

She felt Ryuunosuke's arms tighten around her middle. She felt the heat going up to her head again. She was both grateful and mortified that Ryuunosuke was there to hold her up. Her knees were buckling so badly that she might have collapsed then and there. Now her thoughts really were going a mile a minute. Did he really just ask her that or did she go temporarily insane?

"W-what did you just ask me?"

"Let's run away together. Just you and me."

"R-ryuunosuke? Why, why would ask me of such a thing? W-what about your mom? Wouldn't be worried about you?"

"I'm tired of my mother telling me what to do, all...the...time! She's ordering me to do this and do that. It's been driving me up the wall since my father left us. She just uses me as a tool, something to get an advanced place in the world. I don't want that. Yui," he spun her around so she faced him. "Surely, you can't stand it here either! You can't possibly be happy here. You couldn't be."

Yui stared at him blankly. Was she happy?

"I hear the things that they say about you behind your back at school! I know the things that they say. They don't trust you. They could never understand what it is like to __us__!"

"S-still, bullying is hardly a reason to runaway from home." Yui tried to be as calm and collective as she could possibly be in this situation, but Ryuunosuke was making it very difficult. She was facing him with only a t-shirt protecting her chest from his line of vision. Her skin from her cheeks down to the top of her chest was bright red.

"That's not the only thing," he calmed down somewhat. "Nobody, __nobody __can teach you how to use your powers properly. Genkai, your mom, everybody you know, they'll never understand what it's like for us. You can't stay here."

"Why not! This is my home! This is the only place I've known. My mom is __here__. My sister is __here__. My f-friends are __here. __Am I supposed to drop everything and leave them behind? I know that I need to learn how to use my powers properly. I've been improving. Three weeks ago, I was terrified to use them, but I've accepted them now! I'm gaining control thanks to Genkai. I have no reason to runaway!"

Ryuunosuke pressed his lips firmly against hers. He held her so close their flesh might have melted into one being. His hand gripped the back of her head so she wouldn't easily escape. She felt his tongue lick her lower lip, making her squeal in surprise. This allowed him entrance but Yui wasn't in the mood for his kisses. With all of her might, she pushed him off her, never minding the fact that she was topless. Unforgiving, she wiped the kiss from her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Can't just leave them! I'm sorry you and your mom don't get along, but that's no reason to runaway from home. I'm sorry Ryuunosuke."

Ryuunosuke bowed his head. He didn't say anything. Yui took this time to pull the t-shirt over her head and pull her arms through the sleeves. With protective coverings, the room felt a little less heated. Ryuunosuke mumbled something but even she couldn't hear after standing still so close to him.

"Ryuu-kun?"

"I said," he almost shouted. "'At least let me take you some place where nobody can hurt you again'."

His hands were balled up into fists at his sides. Tears were trickled down his eyes and freezing in mid-air.

"Those scars, when did you get them?"

"Um..." He didn't bother letting her answer.

"Let me guess, three weeks ago. Didn't you say that you accepted your powers three weeks ago? Wasn't that because something happened to you? Didn't it?"

"Ryuu-kun–"

"If you won't runaway because of bullies, then runaway with me so I can protect you!" He finally raised his head. The pupils were slit. His eyes appeared as a serpent's would.

He quickly inched closer but Yui was frozen to the spot. She found that his arms snaked around her before she could stop him. Ryuunosuke held her tight as if he was afraid she would vanish in front of him.

"They couldn't protect you like I could. Dragons...we have a fascination, an urge, to collect and protect treasure. Nobody knows why. We just do." Yui wondered where he was going with this. "However, not all treasure is silver and gold."

His hand cupped her chin. "You are something I want to keep to myself. Forgive me if you don't appreciate my possessiveness but that is how I feel."

"Ryuu-kun..." She said for the umpteenth time.

"I want to lock you away where nobody else can find you and nobody will be able to hurt you again. Somewhere they'll never find you. You'll never have to worry about someone adding more scars to your flesh."

Her voice stopped working. She felt tears of her own building. Why was she so affected by this? She let her mind wander, thinking of all the things her family and friends would benefit from if she wasn't there. They'd never have to worry about her getting kidnapped again, which seemed to be a bad habit. Her mother wouldn't have to constantly worry if she caused a random snow storm and Mao could go back to being the popular girl in school. Suddenly, everything in her life felt like it was slipping away, like it was melting. It was the two of them left in isolation from the world.

"B-but where would we go? I have money but how far would that take us? Where would we sleep? What would we eat? How would we bathe?"

Ryuunosuke's face lit up. "We can head north, far north, to the tip of Hokkaido. We'll camp outside, use money sparingly, and live off the land. Once we're in Hokkaido, we'll find jobs with fisherman or something. Maybe in a few years, we can get married."

"Married? We've been dating less than a week. How can you even consider marriage so soon?"

"I'm, I'm sorry. I just got a little __excited__." He stopped to think. He stared directly into her eyes, searching for something, doubt perhaps. "Do you want to do this? I won't hold it against you if you say no."

"I-I..."Yui closed her eyes so Ryuunosuke won't be as much of a distraction. It sounded kind of nice..his plan. She kind of missed going outdoors like she did as a kid. The city air was stifling and choked with smog. The stench of the city fumes drove her indoors most days. And if they lived up north, there would be fewer people. She could train whenever and almost wherever she wanted, and she'd have a real dragon teaching how to use her powers correctly. The question was did she love Ryuunosuke enough to abandon her home, family, and friends?

"I-I need to pack, and leave a letter explaining to my mom. It'll break her heart, but with the way you put it, I don't know if I can stay here forever."

Ryuunosuke planted a kiss on her forehead. "I'll wait in the living room. Take as much time as you need."

* * *

The white-haired woman drew a fan out of her obi and tapped it against her lips. "No, but you are very close, my dear."

Mao edged closer to her. White hair, pale skin, blue eyes, and aura of cold wind around her body. She couldn't be anything another than a Northern Clan dragon. Without warning, the woman reached out her arms, grabbed Mao around the shoulders, and pulled her into a tight hug. Her kimono was so loosely folded and her chest so big and exposed that Mao's face was half buried between the woman's breasts.

"Human girls are just to cute! They don't girls this cute back home!" The strange woman squealed as she rocked Mao from side to side.

"C-could you tell me you who are, lady!" Mao pried herself off and away from her strong arms.

"Well," she replied as if she had been insulted. "Is that anyway to talk to your grandmother?"

"Eh?"

"Grandmother?" Kurama repeated.

The demon before them looked nothing like a dragon, of course neither did Yui. Speaking of which, there were two things going on in Kurama's head about this woman. One, how __old __was she? Although, it would not be wise to ask. Two, the likeness between her and Yui was uncanny. If this woman really was her grandmother, that would explain a lot, though it had been said that Yui also inherited the shape of her mother's eyes. Looking closely, the woman's eyes were more narrow than Yui's and her mothers, but the uncanny likeness was still very much there.

"Father's side, naturally." She stepped across the room towards Kurama. "You can release her, young man. I have everything under control."

Kurama nodded and eased himself off of Yukiji's back. Yukiji on the other hand became a quivering leaf in the wind. With Kurama off her back, she cautiously positioned her body so it faced the other woman. Yukiji humbled herself into a deep bow with her forehead kissing the floor.

"L-lady Satsuki, please forgive my impudence. It was your son, Akio, who ordered us to bring your granddaughter to the clan. He felt it necessary and unavoidable as he cannot have children of his own." Yukiji's voice lost all prideful gloating when in the presence of her superior.

"Yes, I'm aware that Akio can't produce children. Who do you think nursed him back to health after he was plowed over by a mammoth elk when he was a child? Poor dear, he always was the imprudent one of my brood." Lady Satsuki mused. She looked over her shoulder. "Are you coming in, Yuki? Or do you intend to stand in the door way and attract attention?"

"Yuki? Are you talking about my mom?"

Before Lady Satsuki could give an answer, it came by means of a woman in a very foul mood shouldering a katana making her way towards the living room void of everything except for people.

"Mrs. Kagami..." Kurama started before he met with the end of the katana scabbard.

"Do you always take your sweet time making an entrance, Yuki?" Lady Satsuki chuckled, holding her fan to her lips.

"Do you have to be an obnoxious mother-in-law?" She dug into the pocket of her dark slacks, pulling out a piece of paper about the size of her hand. "'My lovely daughter-in-law, I will be visiting your resident city to check up on you and your daughters. I have been away on business for some time and haven't been able to take time making the trip before now. It seems that a couple of dragons from my village are trying to stir up trouble as well, so be sure to expect me before this evening. Your loving mother-in-law, Satsuki.'"

"I thought you would have liked a note to give you a heads up. I thought humans appreciated that sort of thing," Lady Satsuki tried to play the innocent card and spoke sickly sweet.

Her excuse only seemed to make Mrs. Kagami more angry.

"Informing somebody at the last minute is not what we __humans __consider polite. It would have been nicer if you had told me a week in advance, at least!"

"No need to shout."

"I'll shout if I want to shout! I'm pulled away from work when I'm busier than ever because my mother-in-law can't deliver a message sooner. Then, I have to hear her complain about how I'm not feminine and imply that Izo left me for some demoness with a better attitude. Then she tells me not only has one of my daughters been seeing a boy behind my back for almost a week, there's the possibility that she'll be taken to the demon world because her uncle can't make babies. On top of that, do you know how irritating it is to be around you? You're like eight hundred years old! Why are you prettier than me?"

Lady Satsuki puckered her lips and pouted like a child.

"So crude and boisterous. Must be the Southern clan blood running in those veins of yours that gives you such an attitude."

"Tch," Mrs. Kagami's eyes flew open.

"Southern clan?" Kurama and Mao managed to repeat at the same time.

Lady Satsuki covered her mouth with her hand like she hadn't meant to say that but behind the shield was a small smile.

"I wasn't supposed to say that, was I?"

"No, Satsuki. No, you weren't." Mrs. Kagami lowered her katana. "I was hoping to wait until the right time to tell you this. I didn't believe it myself growing up. It was just a family legend passed down one generation to the next. When Izo was able to trace my ancestry back a few hundred years because he became curious about my family, he found the name of a famous general in the Makai, who happened to be from the Southern clan. We were both a little shocked but it made more sense on how our relationship worked so well. Dragons rarely are attracted to those of a different species. In rare cases, it can happen, but for the most part it's almost unheard of. The blood is said to run through a thousand generations, however I do not have any kind of special abilities beyond extraordinary physical strength, sight, hearing, and immune system. We didn't know if you would develop any powers of your own, like your sister. When you didn't, we kind of counted our lucky stars. Raising an ice dragon was hard enough. Raising one that could breathe fire would be, pardon the metaphor, going from the frying pan and into the oven."

"So, technically speaking, I'm a–" Mao couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

"A demon too. And a dragon at that. Right now, can we focus on something other than family history. We have more important things to worry about." Mrs. Kagami started walking towards the center of the living room.

Mao suddenly grabbed her mother's arm. "How could this not be important? You've never told me or Yui any of that. Then you go and say that stuff nonchalantly, like being a dragon's no big deal? What if I do start breathing fireballs? Ice is one thing, but I could seriously hurt somebody with fire!"

Mrs. Kagami couldn't look any more sorry. Her brows were knotted and the worry lines were written deeply in her face. She dropped her sword and pulled Mao into a hug. Her chin nestled on her shoulder even though Mao struggled the whole time.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry you had to find out this way. You didn't show any signs that the blood had reached you. We assumed that it either died out or would skip a generation. We thought you would be normal. I'm really sorry."

Mao pushed her mother away. They looked at each other in silence. One pair of dark eyes looking distraught, the other with pure rage burning as black embers. Mao pushed Mrs. Kagami aside and stormed out the front door. Her mother sighed longingly, stooped to pick up her sword, and then turned her attention to Kurama.

"Go after her will you?"

He pointed towards himself.

"I still don't like you. I barely tolerate your existence and your presence in my daughters lives, but as it is she's not going to talk to me for a long time. Go get her so that she stays out of trouble. She might need a shoulder to cry on. Or to punch. I'd naturally prefer the latter over the former."

"Right," Kurama answered wryly.

* * *

Yui packed her clothes, the ones she would really need, inside her duffle bag along with her hair and tooth brush, other hygiene products, and feminine needs. She brought with her only one book, and that was restraining herself. She took a pair of proper hiking shoes from her closet, ones that she rarely wore because it was always too hot for her to do that so far down south. She changed completely out of her uniform and into a pair of knee length sweat pants. Her spare wig, which had been idly packed away inside a shoe box now resting under her bed, would remain behind. All that walking that was ahead of her would set her scalp on fire if she wore it. More importantly, her bold display at the school would have been and meant nothing if she went back to wearing it. Instead, she braided her hair and it hung over her shoulder.

Tossing the bag over her shoulder, Yui made her way to the living room where Ryuunosuke was nervously pacing the floor.

"Ryuu-kun, I-I'm ready."

He ran up to her and grabbed her hand.

"What about your things? Won't you need a change of clothes?"

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I have that covered."

__Just what does he mean by that? __Yui felt knots turn in her stomach.

"Ryuu-kun?"

"Yes?"

"There's been something that has been bothering me all day. Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Are you hiding something from me?"

Ryuunosuke's widened but then he quickly narrowed his eyes so she wouldn't think twice about it. It was too late. She had already seen the look on his face. Yui snatched her hand away from him. The duffle bag on her shoulder was flung to the ground.

"Are you hiding something from me?" She asked more firmly. Taking cautious steps backwards, she put some distance between her and Ryuunosuke, the person she thought she could trust.

He refused to answer. He, instead of doing some rational, reached out. Yui saw it coming and quickly moved out of his range.

"Ryuunosuke," his name sounded foreign on her tongue. She saw him struggle with too many emotions all at once. "Answer my question. What are you hiding? I thought we could trust each other. Tell me, please. You're starting to scare me."

"I just want to take you away from this place."

"What else is there? I can see it in your eyes. You have something more you're not telling me. You'll tell me right now or we're through."

"Don't say that!" His fist crashed against the wall and a burst of ice crystals splintered around it.

"R-ryuunosuke, you're scaring me." Yui kept backing away. Her bedroom was only a few feet away. Her cell phone was sitting on her desk. One phone call and she could get Yusuke or Kurama over here before it was too late.

"Do you know when I fell in love with you? I first saw you in the library. You were reading so intently, you didn't even notice me. You had this look on your face. You were so __content__. You looked happy. And when you at last smiled at me, I knew that I wanted to keep that smile from vanishing. Not many girls back home look like that. They don't look happy. They're, we're, always miserable. I don't what it is. Maybe it's the environment we live in. Maybe it's the ice in our veins. Maybe you have something we don't. That doesn't matter. Mother and I were supposed to bring you home so you can inherit your uncle's seat as head of the clan, but I couldn't do that. Not if that meant I could never have you."

"What are you saying? H-have you been __lying __to me this entire time?" Yui hissed. Her blood began to boil, as if it could do that.

Ryuunosuke merely shrugged. "More or less."

"You can't more or less lie to a person. You're either lying or you're not. There's no middle ground."

"What about half-truths then? Don't they exist? I told you my father left me and my mother when I was a child. That was true. We left the Land of Eternal Winter for a better life, that's half true. If we could bring you back, we would not be treated as outcasts anymore. My father left us with nothing but disgrace."

"So you were going to use me to improve your lives? Is that it? Was I just a pawn to be used so you can go back home and collect your reward?" She couldn't tell if her pupils slit like snake eyes just like his, but she could have sworn they did. Her baser nature was taking over. The difference between this time and any other time was that she had far better control.

"That was the plan, yes, but I no longer want that."

"Then what do you want?"

"You."

"You ruined your chance. I knew you were acting funny all day. Now I know why. You're no better than anyone else who's wanted to use me or my powers to their advantage. You're just as selfish as Takashi!"

"Who?" It was Ryuunosuke's turn to be confused.

"The man who burned my skin with iron chains and molested me." There, she said it. Not at a very good time, but she said it.

Ryuunosuke was stunned into silence.

"You're right. Something did happen to a few weeks ago that made me realize that I needed to accept who I am. That was when my sister and I were both held captive. She was used as a distraction while two hunters beat me with chains to get me to confess who my father was, so they could see what kind of __pedigree __I had."

She looked to find Ryuunosuke listening closely, a pained look on his face. She didn't know why it was there. He had been lying to her the entire time or at least omitting his history and purpose in the human world.

"Takashi took extreme pleasure in hitting me with an iron chain. He also liked a lot of __other __things too. Like putting his hands under my clothes, grabbing me, he would have nearly gotten away with raping me if his mother hadn't stepped in in time. She had no idea what he was doing to me while her back was turned and he enjoyed every second of it." Yui was seething now. "Then, I met someone special. I met a boy who was just like me, who seemed to know what I was going through, knew how it felt to be isolated and alone, to be a stranger in a strange land. I thought I loved him. That is until he broke my heart!"

She wanted to claw out his eyes. She wanted to watch him bleed, but this was just the baser nature talking. She couldn't even choke down meat let alone cause physical harm to someone. Not on purpose anyway. Her breathing was heavy. She managed to make it almost to her bedroom door.

"I'm calling Kurama. I'm telling him everything you just told me, and when he gets here I can almost guarantee that he won't show you mercy." Yui whipped to the side and started make a break for her bedroom.

Something cold and solid collided with her head just as her hand barely touched the doorknob. Black splotches danced in front of her eyes before they went entirely black.


	16. Chapter 16

Slowly, so slowly that she could feel the earth beneath her revolve, Yui's senses woke up before she did. Before she opened her eyes, before she __could __open them that is, her ears were awakened by the sound of a crackling fire. It seemed almost nostalgic. How many years had it been since the family had a camping trip? She thought she smelled fish roasting over the fire and Mao complaining loudly that Mommy and Daddy were kissing again. However, there was nothing like that here. There was a crackling fire, that much she was sure of, but there was no laughter or distraught cries of an embarrassed eight year old girl. Where was she, Yui began to wonder. She remembered she was reaching for her bedroom door and then, nothing. It was black. There was a throbbing lump at the back of her head. When she stirred, slowly becoming used to the idea that she was no longer unconscious, Yui turned her head slowly but quickly rolled back over when a jolt of pain erupted from the bump on her head.

Her eyes fluttered open to find a rock wall and not her bedroom door in front of her. She went to rub her eyes, only to find they had been tied behind her back. As if unfamiliar surroundings and bondage weren't enough, Yui looked at her clothes and saw that she wasn't wearing her normal clothes. Somebody dressed her in a silk light blue and white striped yukata and black obi. Yui, desperate to find out where Ryuunosuke had taken her, she sat up. Being mindful of her now aching head, she did it as slowly as possible. There was a fire a few feet beside. It was burning so brightly that she had wince at it. It had been set in a hand-dug hole and surrounded by cave rocks. The walls were grim, gray, and slimy. The dust of the ages seemed to cling not only to the air but to every stalagmite, stalactite, boulder, and pebble as well. The cave floor was rough but flat, though she couldn't tell how far it went. A wooden rod and a billowing dark curtain covered the entrance of the cave. The wind was almost so still that the curtains barely fluttered. Yui ground her teeth, irritated that she couldn't even catch a glimpse of the outside world.

"Good, you're awake."

Yui pivoted her head, wincing at the sharp pain erupting through her skull, and saw Ryuunosuke creeping out from the pitch black interior of the cave where the campfire could not reach. He wasn't wearing his normal clothes either. He too wore a yukata and a haori was draped over his shoulders. In any other circumstance, Yui might have thought that he looked rather handsome in traditional garb. What she hoped for now was that he stepped too close to the fire and set his clothes ablaze. He was carrying a pile of twigs and branches. Ryuunosuke set them by the fire and walked around it towards Yui. She tried to crawl away but the pain in her skull proved too much for her. He easily nabbed her and pulled her into his lap after he sat down. Ryuunosuke's hand reached out to touch the back of her head, but Yui struggled and this time succeeded in keeping it away.

"Hold still please."

"No, not until you tell me where I am and what do you plan on doing with me!" Yui felt one of his hands dig painfully into her ribs as he held onto her waist like an anaconda would do to its prey.

"If I don't take care of this, you'll end up with a concussion!" Ryuunosuke was less than patient to deal with Yui's childish struggling. It was like taking a child to see the physician.

"Who's fault is that?" Yui yelled.

Admittedly, Ryuunosuke was taken aback by her response. He hadn't heard her raise her voice like that before. Even back at her home she was just barely doing it. He had never heard her yell before.

"If you keep doing that, you'll only make yourself worse. I __need__ to put some ice on the bump on your head or else it could get serious. What if you developed a concussion? What if I accidentally hit a blood vessel and if the swelling doesn't go down, you'll bleed inside your brain. Do you want that?"

Yui stilled. She gave up for a little bit but then went back to struggling. Ryuunosuke permitted it until she began losing the strength to fight. She squirmed under the grasp of his arm. Her legs were trapped under her and her hands were tied behind her back with rope. A paper seal stuck to the rope had a magic charm that would prevent her from using her powers to simply turn the rope into fragile ice and break herself free. Ryuunosuke couldn't have that. He waited for Yui to calm down before applying his hand to her head. Just as he had done with her fever, a blast of cold energy erupted from the palm of his hand. Immediately, he began to see the affects. The swelling went down dramatically and before long it disappeared entirely. Ryuunosuke eased himself away from her, not wanting to upset her any further than he already did.

"Where are we?" She asked, venom still lingering on her tongue.

"This is the place me and Mother have called home for the last several years. None of the other villagers have tried to take us in. Father left us in disgrace and we were left to pay for his crimes. When Mi'lord found out that you were in the human world, he offered Mother a chance to redeem ourselves after Father's mistake. So here we are." He went on as he applied a couple branches to the fire and mindlessly watched it gobble up the wood like some kind of hunger animal.

"And where is __here__, this cave? Where is it?" Yui asked, panicking, and yet she already knew the answer to that question, but she hoped she was wrong.

Ryuunosuke dryly chuckled, smiling a bittersweet smile. There was no humor or joy in his laugh any more. He stood up, dusted himself off, and went to the entrance of the cave. The curtains were pulled open wide so she could see clearly.

Behind those curtains, there was a white world. There mountains and hills of snow. The expanse of the sky above was a misty blue and the land was dotted with the black figures of wooden giants whose branches were so long and trunks so wide Yui could almost see them clearly from such a long distance. Four legged animals like moose stood out against the white snow with their dark brown-black fur. The sun was shining pretty well but it would take more than a little sunshine to melt the thousands of feet of snow that blanketed the landscape. Despite the current situation, Yui couldn't help but be in awe of the scenery. This is what her dad left behind all those years ago?

"This is–" Yui couldn't help but stare blankly at the scene as if it was some kind of painting in an art gallery.

"The Land of Eternal Winter, in the Makai."

Yui's heart couldn't take much more breaking. First, Ryuunosuke lied to her. Second, he kidnapped her. Third, now she was stuck in the demon world with no way to get home or contact anybody for help. For once she was on her own, and it frightened her.

A little trickle of an icicle ran down her cheek.

"The Makai?" She repeated in a hushed whisper.

Ryuunosuke saw the tear trickle down her cheek. He went immediately to embrace her, but she refused to look at him. He had to be satisfied with this for now.

"I'm sorry but you left me with now choice. If you hadn't asked questions, it would have turned out better. We could have run away together to Hokkaido and started a new life there. You forced my hand. I wanted you to be happy with me, even if I had to force myself to be around humans. I didn't really want to bring you here, but you caused this. You shouldn't have asked, I wouldn't have gotten angry and frightened you. We wouldn't be in this mess. It's going to be so difficult to hide you when we're still close to the village."

"There's a village nearby?" Yui asked with some hope.

Ryuunosuke nodded. "It's close by but if you think I haven't taken precautions about you escaping, then you will understand. I have barriers around the entrance of the cave. Only I can come and go as I please. The ropes..."

Yui twisted her neck to look over her shoulder but could barely make out the ropes binding her and a little piece of paper pinned down to the rough fibers.

"Have a charm on them as well. You can't use your powers to freeze the ropes and you can't leave the cave. Once I know that you won't runaway, I'll remove them. Until then, I'd like you to stay put." Ryuunosuke left and headed back towards the dark section of the cave. He returned shortly with a quiver full of arrows and bow. "I'll go get us something to eat."

Now standing at the entrance, using the box to pull back the curtain, Ryuunosuke turned to look over his shoulder. He received a piercing glare.

"I love you."

It pained him that she wouldn't say it back, not that he could blame her. He turned away, heart and head heavy, and went off to catch something to eat. Whether or not she liked it, no demon could survive this land by eating tree branches alone.

* * *

"Mao, wait!" Finally, after a fifteen minute chase Kurama was able to catch up with Mao on the street. They were half was to her home, about a block away as a matter of fact.

"What is it?" Mao whipped her head around.

She was on the brink of tears. He could see it in her eyes. There was so much pain and distrust going on inside her little head it made him forget that just a few short weeks ago she was just then introduced to the world of demons. They both thought before and after that she was a human. Kurama couldn't easily empathize with her. He knew who he was from the moment he was born. He knew that he was Yoko Kurama, a demon fox from the Makai, King of Bandits. He had always known that. For fifteen years, Mao thought she was just human. Through at least half of those years, she thought her sister, mother, and father were too. Everything changed when she found herself kidnapped, beaten, and Yui was tortured for information. What kind of information they still didn't know. Up until three weeks ago, which wasn't all that long even for humans, Mao thought and believed that she was nothing but a human being. The sudden and unexpected revelation not only from her grandmother but a confirmation from her mother must have hit the girl like a tsunami wave. Kurama doubted there would be anything he could say to comfort her.

"I..." He started off, but realized too late that any answer that he gave her would be like putting a tiny band-aide on an inch long knife wound. "I can't apologize for your mother and for her hiding such a secret from you. However, in time maybe you'll realize that she did it to protect you. Yui will be made a target because of who she is. She is a rare species. Would you want to join her in being hunted down?"

Correction, it seemed to have made matters worse.

Mao chucked his bag and managed to hit him directly in the face. When it peeled off and landed with a heavy thud on the ground, he didn't bother picking up at first. He looked at Mao, who was positively seething.

"You...__you __don't get to tell me that I have to stand for this. I bet you knew from the start what you were. You have __no __idea what I'm going through right now. My mom just told me I'm a friggin' fire breathing dragon, and I'm just supposed to accept that? There's no talk, there's no explanation, there's no...reason to have kept it from me for so long! When I found out what Yui was, don't you think that might have been an appropriate to tell me what kind of blood that I have running through my veins? Now, instead of worrying school and acne and dates, I have to worry about when I could suddenly develop pyrokinesis and blow up the science lab!"

Mao was waving her arms about like a madman and hollering at the top of her lungs. Kurama was grateful for the loud traffic blaring up and down the street so people could barely make out what she was saying. It would be hard to explain to any passers-by what Mao meant by being a 'fire-breathing dragon' or blowing up the science lab without making her out to be an anarchist.

"Let's go find your sister." He hoped it would prove to be a worthy distraction as he bent over to pick up his bag.

"I'm in such a bad mood, I think I'll punch Ryuunosuke in the face just for the hell of it!" Mao grumbled, gripping her bag tightly in her balled up fist.

They managed to get to the house about a block away without causing a scene. When they got there, Mao froze when she pushed open the front door so easily. Too easily. The door should have been locked but it wasn't. She and Kurama exchanged looks.

"Yui, are you home?" Mao stepped across the threshold, calling out her sister's name.

They didn't bother taking off their shoes when the went inside.

"Yui?" Kurama's eyes flashed across the room and hallway, but there was no sign of anybody. He felt no other presence besides his and Mao's.

A pink duffle bag sat abandoned in the hallway. He recognized it right away.

"I'll check her room." Mao rushed past him.

Kurama heard Yui's bedroom door swing open and then Mao shuffling through her things. He knelt beside the duffle bag, pulled the zipper down, and explored through the contents. There were clothes, hygiene products, and book. This seemed to be a clue. He removed it from the bag read over the cover page. Only Yui would have a Japanese translated version of __The Castle of Otranto__. It seemed to be reading material right up her alley. Mao ran out of the hallway holding a note.

"She ran away from home," Mao handed him the note.

It didn't take him long to quickly scan through the hastily scrawled letters. In summary, she was running away because she felt like she was a burden to the people around her. She was going to head north where she could be away everybody and where she wouldn't cause trouble. Kurama didn't realize it, but his hand was shaking has he read the note over and over again. It was a masochistic game he was playing. He scanned each word carefully. He looked over the entire piece of paper until every detail was thoroughly seeped into his brain. This was her stationary. This was her penmanship. Ryuunosuke had no way of mimicking it. But then, why was her duffle bag left in the middle hallway, carrying a great deal of her personal possessions. The book was an important clue. Who else in Japan would have such a book?

"Kurama?"

He barely heard Mao talking to him. He also barely heard the door bell ring.

"I'll get it." Mao said somberly.

She fetched the door, half-expecting her mom to be on the porch. Instead, and she was shockingly pleasantly surprised by this, Yusuke and the others were there.

"Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know, just wandering around. All three of us. As if we share common interests." Yusuke quipped.

"The ferry girl brought us here." Hiei answered snidely. "Apparently, your sister's been kidnapped...__again__."

Mao didn't appropriate Hiei's comment at a time like this, but if he was of any use then he could say almost whatever he wanted.

"Just get inside," Mao snapped. She wandered over to the living room, plopped down into the overstuffed couch, and rested her elbow on the arm. She covered her face with her hand.

"I think we can say Ryuunosuke has somethin' to do with this. It's not rocket science." Yusuke seemed oddly relaxed about the situation, which wasn't abnormal. Given the circumstances, perhaps Yui getting kidnapped was a regular thing on his schedule now.

It was his nonchalant attitude that was ticking Mao off the most. Now wasn't the time for his shenanigans or Hiei's need for an attitude adjustment. She was willing to punch both these guys in the face if it would calm the throbbing vein in her forehead.

"Brilliant detective work. I would have never figured it out on my own." Mao retorted, lips in a sneer.

"What's your problem? I don't see you doing anything. Or are you waiting for the perfect opportunity to say you were right?" Riled up, Yusuke looked like he was trying to pick a fight. Even if it was with a girl.

Mao shot up from her seat on the couch.

"I'm really not have a good day right now, Yusuke, so shove it. I get into another fight with my sister at school, she ends up missing, we can't find either her or Ryuunosuke anywhere, and that's just the pretty little cherry on my hot fuck sundae."

"Mao, calm down." Kurama warned gently.

"Yeah, you'll pop the vein in your forehead."

To which Mao replied to Yusuke with a punch in the gut. He wasn't prepared for it and her definitely underestimated the girl's strength.

"On top of all that, my grandma decides to show up at the last minute to tell us that Ryuunosuke and his mom are up to no good."

Yusuke disengaged himself from Mao's surprisingly hard fist. He gripped his stomach as if he was about to throw up.

"And? Do you just not like the smell of old lady?"

"Yeah. I'm not talking about the one of Mom's side of the family. I'm talking about the one on Dad's."

Realization slowly kicked on three of the boys faces.

"Your grandma, from your dad's side of the family, wouldn't that make her a..."

"Yes, Yusuke," Mao growled, exhausted by his stupid questions. "A dragon. Just like my dad, and come to find out my mom too. Which makes me a flyin' fire-breathing super sized lizard too!"

Eyes widened. Heads turned towards Kurama for answers.

"I was just as shocked and surprised as you are. Mrs. Kagami has a lot of explaining to do when this is over, but can we focus on something a little more important. Like finding where Ryuunosuke took Yui?"

Yusuke nodded and straightened himself up now that the pain was gone from his abdomen.

"Where did you see her last?"

"At school. We got into a fight about Ryuunosuke, she pulled off her wig in front of the student body, and ran off. I think they might have come home but I don't know what to make of it from there." Mao answered, calmed down a little now that her new target was to find her sister. When they found her, they would find Ryuunosuke. If they found Ryuunosuke, she could give him the beating of a lifetime that he deserved.

"He might have convinced her to runaway with him, like this note implies, but something went wrong." Kurama continued for her. "Her duffle bag is still here."

"How do you know its hers?" Asked Kuwabara.

Kurama held up the book in his hand. "No other teenage girl I know would runaway with a copy of book so obscure in her bag."

"Yeah, that does sound like someone she would try to do." Yusuke rubbed his chin in thought. "Grabbing a book, not the running away part."

"Yes," Kurama agreed. "Running away from home doesn't sound like Yui at all. She's certainly the more responsible type. He must have convinced her quite thoroughly or forced her. The note she left behind doesn't look like it was forced, but maybe..."

While he was deep in thought, Yusuke snapped up the note from his hand.  
"Why's it so wrinkly? I can barely make out what it's saying?" He tried holding the note from various different angles but nothing seemed to work.

"Well, Kurama was holding it pretty tight. I tried to warn him but he seemed to have been off in his own little world." Mao answered.

Heads immediately turned, but towards him this time. It seemed like a bright light was shown on him. He was in the spot light.

"Oh," he answered rather calmly, though it seemed forced. "I hadn't realized."

Yusuke knowingly hummed in agreement and he and Kuwabara started whispering to each other, seemingly over the note. Hiei, on the other hand, was too busy glaring at Kurama to care.

"Why don't we have a little chat, Kurama?" Without checking to make sure Kurama followed, he sauntered towards the back door, which led directly out to the small backyard. When he passed Mao, he gave her a death glare worthy of being called 'if looks could kill,' and she was sure it would be quite potent.

She tried to grab Kurama's arm to stop him, but he gently pushed her away. He smiled politely. Even Mao knew by know what he looked like when he smiled. She had been watching him for the past year. She thought she knew his fake smile from his real one. This was one wake. Without a doubt, she knew was it wasn't real.

* * *

Closing the door firmly behind him, Kurama found Hiei leaning against the tree, half-hidden beneath the shadows of the branches. Hiei, sullen as ever, didn't bother looking Kurama in the eye.

"You're growing attached to that girl, the one who's making it a habit for you to come save her. It's becoming an annoyance."

"Whatever do you mean, Hiei?" Kurama tried to play the innocent card, but he should have known better.

Hiei was no fool. He was much smarter than to fall for Kurama's simple tricks and deceptive language, feigning ignorance. It might have worked for some, but not him.

"The so-called dragon, and I use that term very loosely, you're __fond__ of her, aren't you?" Hiei hissed out the word like it was venom on his tongue. Fondness or even liking someone, it was such a strange and useless concept.

"Yui is a friend, so of course I care for her."

Hiei huffed with contempt. "A friend, you say? Then tell, how did you feel when every time you say her with this, __Ryuunosuke__ boy? Were you ever jealous?"

"You know as well I do there is nothing between me and Yui. I couldn't have been jealous."

"But were you," Hiei persisted. He had an iron will. He could do this all day.

"Does it matter?"

"It matters to me if I have to associate myself with a demon who has a soft-spot for both humans and __frail __women. She's useless, you realize that don't you? Nearly sixteen years old and she has the emotional capacity of a child and the amount of control she has is bare minimum. The next time she throws a tantrum could send the human world into an ice age. Or do you think you're capable of stopping it next time? That is if she doesn't eat you first."

Kurama's brows knitted in confusion. "Eat me? Yui is a vegetarian. She couldn't eat a cow, let alone an actual person, least of all me."

"Then you don't know many dragons. She is still very young, even for demons. Sooner or later, she'll start to crave the flesh of other demons. They prefer our flesh after all. Can you stop her then?"

"Hiei," Kurama started, "What is with all of this? Why are you asking me such questions?"

"I want to know where your loyalties lie. If you insist on being close to that girl, then you should be warned. Some day she might actually answer her instincts and eat you up in one bite. When that day comes, I may put her neck to my sword and slay my first dragon."

Kurama's demonic energy flared. His eyes narrowed. At last Hiei turned to him and gave him one look. His stoic features were erased by the devilish smirk.

"Are you challenging me, fox? Do you care for the weakling that much?" He started to leave.

Kurama's answer stopped him.

"And if I do, if I do care for her that much, what would you say?"

Hiei's smirk disappeared. Any amusement he had teasing Kurama was gone. Kurama was serious now, and that was how Hiei would take it. If being a human lover wasn't enough, Kurama lowered himself even further by associating with a useless, talentless dragon girl with the emotional capacity of a toddler. She was too dangerous to be around. Her emotions ran too high. Her skills in fighting were nonexistent. How could anyone besides her own annoying sister want to be in the same company? And if that girl were able to achieve something, who was to say that she wouldn't give in to her baser nature and starting eating demons left and right. That was her instinct. Dragons were attracted to power and sense demons had more of that than humans, it was natural that all other demons would be their prey. Just how long could she keep up this chirade? Probably not long according to his calculations.

Rather than answer Kurama, he turned his back on him and flitted out of sight, seemingly disapearing into thin air. Kurama couldn't stop him nor could he stop the thoughts running wild in his head. Hiei's questions and remarks left a deep impression on him. There were many things he said that Kurama wished weren't true, but at the end of the day that's all they were, wishes. Just how long did Yui have before she would be consumed by her true nature? Years, months, weeks? How would he stop himself from being eaten if that were the case? Would he allow himself to kill her for the sake of self-preservation? His stomach twisted in agonizing knots at the thought of it. He held his stomach like he was in pain and eased himself onto the little brick wall that encircled the back porch.

Reality sank in like quick sand. All Kurama could worry about was not only see Yui ever again, but the threat of physical harm to her stalked him brain. There would be no sleep tonight if she wasn't brought back home safe. Perhaps he had grown soft, he admitted. There was something in her smile, in her intelligent eyes, the sound of her soft voice that drove him to protect her. Not just to protect, no. He wanted something more than. Even if was dangerous, he wanted...he wanted...What did he want?

"Where'd Hiei go?" Yusuke's voice broke the chain of Kurama's thought.

"He ran off, I think. He's not likely to help us here. I'm assuming he doesn't think that this case deserves his attention."

The vein in Yusuke's forehead almost popped. His hand curled up into a fist and he punched the air as if hoping Hiei would be standing there to receive the hit out of nowhere.

"That little good for nothin' twerp. When I get my hands on him, I'm gonna..." He stopped his raging ranting to notice Kurama's forlorn appearance.

Kurama was not usually sullen. He could be indifferent, but this new look was not something Yusuke saw on him before. He made him worried. It made him wonder what Hiei told Kurama when the door was shut closed behind them. Yusuke had been arguing with Mao on what to do while Kuwabara wisely stood out of the way and went to get help from the Maruyama household where he assumed Mrs. Kagami and her mother-in-law would still be, holding Yukiji back from finding her son and Yui. He couldn't have heard what Kurama and Hiei were talking about above his and Mao's yelling. The girl may have been obnoxious but he had to give her credit for verbally abusing him that would make Keiko proud. Judging by the look on Kurama's face, Hiei said something really bad.

"Why the long face?"

"I was just thinking." Kurama avoided eye contact.

Yusuke stood close-by. "About what? If you're worried about Yui, we'll get her pasty pale butt back home in no time. We're not just gonna let that freak do what he wants."

Kurama sighed. "I appreciate your thoughts, Yusuke, but I'm not in a very good mood at the moment."

"Just what did Hiei say to you that's got you like this? You're making __me __worried about you. Tell me what's going on in that pretty little head of yours." He firmly grabbed Kurama's shoulder and gave it a good shake.

Kurama turned his head slightly towards Yusuke. "If Keiko was ever in trouble, how would it make you feel?"

Stunned, Yusuke didn't know what to say. "Well, um, I'd, uh...I'd probably feel...angry. J-just where is this coming from?"

He had to immediately change the subject or expose a secret he didn't want out in the open. Kurama shook his head. He clasped his hands hands together, put his elbows on his knees, and rested his hands on his forehead.

"Never mind. Forget I said anything." He answered mournfully.

* * *

Yui frantically looked around for a sharp weapon to cut her ropes. There was the campfire, sleeping mats on the other side of the cave, and a large cooking pot. Anything like a knife was put away some place where she couldn't get to it. She didn't know how long Ryuunosuke would take. Then there was the matter of the seal holding her up inside that she would have to contend. Having no experience with paper charms and seals, this would be an interesting challenge. Before she could to do any of that, there was the matter of untying herself first.

She looked around a final time, but to no avail. However, the stalagmites looked pretty sharp. She began scooting up to one of them. Lifting her arms upwards, she was able to encircle the stalagmite with the rough edges against the ropes. It took several minutes of trial and error to figure out how to move her arms so the rope would cut perfectly. Once or twice she managed only to cut and hurt herself. The paper charm attached to the ropes was poked through several times by another stalagmite directly behind the other one yet the power still remained. That same stalagmite stabbed her every time she wasn't careful enough. Yui glanced at the cave entrance expecting Ryuunosuke to come back any second. When the curtains barely rustled in the breeze, she went back to work pushing and pulling her arms against the raw edge of the rock.

Sweat beat down her neck and forehead. Hair was continually getting her eyes or sticking to her forehead, which greatly irritated her. There was nothing more annoying to her than having her hair stick to places she didn't want it stuck. Unfortunately, there was no helping it. She couldn't wipe her face anyhow thanks to the ropes. The cave echoed with the sounds of her frustrated cries and yelps when she pricked her hands on the rocks. The ropes were stubborn but so was she. Only one of them would come out on top and she wasn't going to spend the rest of her life in a cave with a boy who had separation anxiety.

She moved her arms faster but all that did was hurt her some more. Groaning and kicking her feet, Yui was about to give up. Both of her arms ached, she was covered in sweat, and the ropes refused to budge. Her confidence had been drained, it seemed.

Her eyes grew heavy. She felt exhausted. Yui let herself fall asleep the way she was, however her rest didn't last long. Mao's voice was chiming in her head as a memory she had forgotten.

__Do you want to build a snowman?__

Tears found their down her cheeks, mingling ice and sweat. Her cheeks burned as the ice from her tears melted with the sweat from her brow. Mao's voice was the one thing she wanted to hear again. Nothing else mattered but getting home.

With strength restored, Yui set to work with slicing up her bindings. This time she pulled harder and faster than before. Soon enough, and to her great relief, the fibers snapped. One by one the individual strings snapped and unfurled. The paper charm detached itself from the ropes as more and more came loose from her wrists. The snapping fibers were like a well played orchestra to her ears. Yui couldn't help but laugh with triumph when the last of the strings fell away from her. Yui stood up, rubbed her red wrists, and examined the various cuts she had on her hands. The hem of her yukata was smeared with her blood. Along the sleeve were a few tears, not that it really matter. Very soon Yui planned on changing out of this thing and wearing some real clothes,__her__ clothes. The thought of Ryuunosuke changing her when she was unconscious sent a shiver of disgust up her spine while her cheeks turned bright red.

Now, she turned her attention to the cave entrance. Yui approached it carefully. Cautiously, she reached out to pull the curtains back and thrust her hand slowly into the outside world. She could only push her hand out so far before coming to an invisible force field that pushed her right back inside. Listening closely, sure enough she could hear the paper charms fluttering in the wind. Their flapping around was like laughter to her, mocking her. Her fists tightened at her side. She wouldn't be beaten by pieces of paper. If she could find out where they were positioned exactly, maybe she could...freeze them like they'd been dipped in liquid nitrogen. The problem was locating where they were. Without being able to see them. If they were powerful charms, they would have some kind of spiritual residue on them, right? They would have a small amount of energy attatched to them in order to make them work. But how to find them? Yui remembered something that Genkai had said to her a few weeks ago, what was it again? Normally Yui had no problem remembering things but when she was training she mostly tried to focus on avoiding being hit.

__LIZARD! It's not rocket science. Just close your eyes and focus.__

Of all times, Genkai was still egging her. It was worth a try. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she let her mind go blank, which was no easy task for somebody who may have one or two anxiety disorders, and possibly OCD. Within a few minutes, Yui felt the energy points coming from the paper charms. There were five alltogether arranged in a star pattern at the mouth of the cave. She took another deep breath and forced her energy outwards. Her energy was not repelled by the force field but instead shot out in five directions, directly hitting her targets. When Yui opened her eyes, the wind was carrying off the broken pieces of frozen paper. She took a cautious step towards the mouth of the cave. Prodding the edge with her toe, she didn't find the force field yet. Yui put one foot forward, and when that wasn't stopped she took another careful step. Before she knew it, her feet were crunched snow and she was running in some unknown direction. Where it would take was another story entirely.


	17. Chapter 17

"Botan, you're already here?" Yusuke was confused how the grim reaper could have gotten there before him.

"Yes, um. We have a bit of a problem." Botan reached inside her kimono, eventually pulling out a map. "According to our reports, Ryuunosuke has already landed in the Makai, more specifically the Land of Eternal Winter. We were able to spot Yui's energy signature. We're absolutely positive he has her."

"Great. We'll just pop in, grab her, kick Ryuunosuke's butt, and be back here before supper."

Botan winced. "It's not as simple as that."

"A human like you would freeze to death before you got within a mile of the territory. Not to mention my son isn't in the mood to receive visitors, especially anyone from Koenma." Grandma Satsuki looked mildly concerned.

"So what do we do?" Asked Yusuke.

"Satsuki and I will go get Yui." Mrs. Kagami shouldered her katana.

Lady Satsuki couldn't resist scoffing. "Even if you have dragon's blood in your veins, you couldn't withstand the conditions of my native country. You would meet the same fate as the boy. Don't be so stubborn."

"She's my daughter!"

"She's also my granddaughter and the only heir my family will have! Do you think you're the only one who's worried for her sake? Believe it or not, some of us don't have hearts completely covered in ice!"

Mrs. Kagami lowered her sword and was about to unsheathe it when Kurama suddenly felt the need to interrupt them.

"I'll go with Lady Satsuki to rescue Yui."

"You…you're actually volunteering?" Satsuki was puzzled. She heard rumors about the infamous fox demon, but had no idea that he was remotely capable of performing an act of kindness.

"What's your angle?" Asked Mrs. Kagami who was still ready to unleash her vengeance, just on a different target.

"I just want to help." Getting Yui's mother to agree and to trust him would be like trying to help an injured bear cub when its mother was standing nearby. A dangerous feat all on its own.

"It would be more prudent to bring along. He would last longer. He's no dragon, but normal demons can survive our climates, if given the proper protection." Satsuki mused to nobody in particular.

"That kid?" Mrs. Kagami looked insulted. "You're going to send that __boy __to rescue my daughter? Why can't I go along?"

Frustrated and increasingly impatient, Satsuki was forced to retort in an unladylike manner, snapping harshly her daughter-in-law.

"Aside from being human, a Southern clansman wouldn't last an hour in the North. You'd freeze to death just as quickly as a human. Don't be so hot-headed. Your temper will be the death of you." Satsuki sneered and hid her face behind her fan.

"Why I oughta," Mrs. Kagami reached to unsheathe her sword. Kurama's hand stopped her.

"Mrs. Kagami?" Said he.

"What?"

"Perhaps Satsuki has a point. If neither you nor Yusuke can make the journey, can't you trust me, just this once, to bring your daughter back? I promise no further harm will come to her."

Mrs. Kagami ripped herself out of his grip. She glared at him and he thought he saw actual fire burning in the shadow of her eyes. She seemed to growl at him, snarling with her pointed teeth bared.

"If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be in this mess. You couldn't leave well enough alone. All we've been trying to do is be invisible, fly under the radar. Then __you __showed up and ruined everything by paying attention to her."

Kurama's eyes narrowed like he was glaring right back at her.

"With all due respect, Mrs. Kagami, at least someone was paying attention to her."

Kuwabara and Yusuke hissed in unison.

"Ouch," mumbled Yusuke.

Mrs. Kagami raised her fisted hand to his eye level. One second, it looked normal and in the next her hand was on fire. Flickering red and orange flames licked the air. Crackling energy burst all around Mrs. Kagami's hand. Kurama wisely stepped back.

"If you ever say such a thing to me again, I'll roast you alive."

"Hey! Is there anything else you're leaving out? You said you didn't have any special powers. I think that producing fire in you hands counts!" Yusuke yelled while he was busy pointing out, literally, that Mrs. Kagami was on fire.

A snowball snuffed out the fire before things go out of hand. Lady Satsuki looked more perturbed than ever. She had sneaked over to Mrs. Kagami's side while she was distracted and formed a snowball out of thin air and smooshed it firmly over the fire. It quickly died with a pathetic hiss.

"We don't have time for your temper or your smart mouth." Satsuki had turned to Kurama. "We have a young girl traveling with an unstable boy in the farthest region in the Makai, in a place where nearly everything can kill you if it got the chance. Kurama and I will go find Yui. Everyone else stays here to man the fort. Does anybody have an issue with this arrangement?"

Mrs. Kagami sneered, disgust plainly written all over her face. But she didn't say anything.

"I'll just go ahead and take this one with me to the spirit world and see what Koenma can do with her." Botan grabbed Yukiji by the scruff of her collar.

"Wait," Mrs. Kagami shouted.

Botan stopped dragging Yukiji along the floor just long enough for Mrs. Kagami to reach them. Yukiji glared at Mrs. Kagami and the two eyed each other. Her sword was fully unsheathed this time and the sharp end placed directly on top of Yukiji's vulnerable throat.

"If your son has done anything to harm my daughter, this won't be the last you'll see of me." Mrs. Kagami threatened.

* * *

Even if she managed to find a compass, Yui wasn't sure if the Makai had a magnetic field that would allow it work. She was in the North, but that was just a name for this icy tundra. She looked around and could only find white hills and gray mountains in the far distance. Thick trees, both forests and small clumps, dotted the land breaking up the greater part of the white landscape. It was unusually bright for a place called the Land of Eternal Winter. All the while she wondered why she wasn't overcome by snow blindness, when the reflected light from the sun bounced off virgin snow. It was strange how she could see perfectly.

The cold didn't get to her either, even when she was wearing only a yukata and no shoes or sandals. Yui marched up and down the hills and kept looking for any sign of a village or a person, other than Ryuunosuke. Giant caribou roamed in the far distance, but they didn't do her any good. The land wasn't entirely barren. Besides the enormous pine-bearing trees, there were thorny bushes and holly-like shrubs that bore pinkish berries the size of her thumb. As tempting as they looked, Yui guessed that eating something that would either make her sick to her stomach or kill her. Their resemblance to human-world holly made her loose her appetite.

Yui reached the crest of the tallest hill she could find. She put her hand above her eyes to see better in the bright sun. Standing on top of the hill, she scanned the lands for anything that looked similar to signs of a civilization. There were frost-covered trees, some caves, and a river. Patches of ice speckled the babbling brook but the river didn't succumb to the biting cold. If there was a river, there were fish. If there were fish, there had to be at least some fishermen. If there were fishermen, a village had to be nearby. Yui looked harder, scanning past the river. It was hard to see through and in between the trees. She strained her eyes until they were watering. The harder she looked, the more desperate she became.

Cresting above the tree line, a tower of black smoke was rising. Yui finally let hope rise in her chest. Now that she had a general direction to head towards, getting help would be no problem. All she had to worry about was running in Ryuunosuke or a pack of wolves.

__Growl__

Yui looked down at her stomach and realized just how hungry she was. With limited resources and a vegetarian restaurant nowhere in sight, there were two options she could choose from. Eat bark or choke down some fish from the river. Given the fact that she didn't know if the bark off the trees could be easily obtained and softened, breaking her vegetarian diet was a choice Yui didn't like to make but knew survival was more important at the moment. She was about to descend from the hill when a flurry of black fur came abounding down the valley feet below her. A pack of wolves were running past the hills, fog teeming from their mouths and noses. They were large, very large. Yui suddenly remembered this article she read about the discovery of dire wolves, large wolves that once roamed North America. But these things, these wolves were so much larger than the ones she read about. If they appeared large from this distance, just how much bigger would they be up close and personal.

The leader of the pack ran well ahead of the rest, but something didn't feel right. If they were hunting as a pack, why was the leader so much farther ahead of the rest? It didn't look quite right. Yui, being cautious, sat down on the hill to watch from a safe distance.

One wolf of the pack managed to catch up with the leader. Yui watched in horror as this one wolf caught up with the leader and sunk its teeth into his back leg as it was running. The one being bitten let out a pathetic yelp and was forced to stop and turn to defend itself. Biting its former pack mate, the first wolf sunk its teeth into the other's neck. The other wolves encircled the two but made no move to help either one. The snapped their jaws when the first wolf tried to escape. They were crowding around the two like mad spectators of a sport. Yui found herself shaking. She rose but who was she to disturb Mother Nature? Still, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the wounded wolf. Its pack had surrounded it, preventing escape. The two wolves were dueling over something. Blood and fur flew as they tried to bite and claw each other to death.

Finally, Yui could take no more of this. Gathering up her energy, she moved the ice and snow under their feet. She was careful not to move the snow under the wolf who needed her compassion the most. The wolves were tossed roughly but not too roughly off their feet. Some whimpered and yelped but Yui made sure not to overdo it. They looked to the top of the hill and although they figured out who was moving the snow, there wasn't anything they could do. They seemed to understand who was higher up on the food chain in these parts. The pack scampered out of sight, leaving behind their former comrade. Yui waited for the pack to disappear behind the winding hills before descending. She found the remaining wolf licking its wounds. She carefully approached. Its bright yellow eyes stared at her with much disdain, like she had insulted its honor by helping it. She spotted the wound on its hind leg, which was the worst of the bite marks it wore. Blood was dripping down its leg and the poor fellow couldn't reach it.

Yui bent down in the snow and began tearing at the hem of her yukata. The kimono now reached below her knees and she held a shredded strip of cloth in her hand. She slowly approached the wolf and while it was distracted with tending the wounds on its front paws, Yui went around its back. She tentatively put her hand on the hind leg with the makeshift bandage ready. The wolf suddenly turned when it felt her hand lightly touch the area around the wound. Yui reacted quickly enough and sharp teeth were embedded in an armored gauntlet made out of ice. Their eyes met. They stared into each other's eyes for what felt like hours. Yui looked stern at the wolf she was trying to help and pursed her lips. The wolf growled, the guttural sound weakened with its jaws stuck in her icy shield.

"If you want your leg to keep bleeding, go ahead. You might be dead if not for me."

It took the wolf several minutes before releasing its jaws. Yui let down her shield, the broken pieces of ice falling into her lap. The dire wolves from the Makai were the biggest things she had seen in the wild. Standing, the wolf stood at her hips. It looked almost no different than a normal wolf except all of its muscles and jaws were bulky. The black fur was so long and fluffy Yui could have lost her hand in the wolf's mane. The wolf silently complied, turning right back around and laid down in the snow. Yui carefully bandaged up the hind leg. Not too loose but not too tight. Even after she was finished, the wolf looked neither grateful nor happy to see her. Yui dusted off the ice and snow from her clothes after rising, she wandered away from the wolf.

Heading towards a group of trees by the river, she seized a hefty low-lying branch and gave it a good tug. She could wrap one hand around the base but the stubborn thing would not budge. Yui tried harder, pulled hard, put all of her body weight into it. Sadly, it wasn't nearly enough. The bark was too thick and the branch was weighed down with heavy pine needles and a layer of snow. Giving up, Yui plopped down on a rock near the river bed. The waters were crystal clear. Despite the freezing weather, the river ran smoothly over the rocks and the ice blockades. Fish the size of tuna swam right past her, mocking her. The growling in her stomach grew louder. Wrapping her arms around her stomach, Yui tried to quiet the sounds of her hungry stomach.

__SPLASH! SPLASH!__

Water like icy daggers hit her face. Wiping it away from her eyes, she found a mass of black fur was paddling its way across the river. The wolf had dived into the river. It disappeared below the surface and rose again with three or four fish caught in its jaws. Miraculously the bandage remained in place even when soaked. The wolf waded in the river and walked right over to Yui. She was shocked when it put all of the fish it caught right in her lap. Nudging the fish with its nose, Yui was compelled to pick one up. She didn't know how to it. She wasn't sure if she could. The fish were still breathing. It flapping its fins helplessly. Its great, big bulging eye stared at her. Yui was almost tempted to throw them back in the river.

The wolf bit down on the upper part of the fish she was holding and ripped the head from the rest of its body. Yui was both disgusted and grateful at the same time. At least now she wouldn't have to worry about eating the fish while it was still alive. The wolf's powerful jaw crushed the fish's skull with its powerful jaws. Yui winced a little as she listened to the crunching of bone in between wolf teeth. Yui quietly pulled out the spiny bones in the fish and bit down. The rough scales made it hard to chew. Without a knife to skin it, there wasn't no helping it. The meat underneath it was filling enough. Yui hated to admit it but it was good. Moral implications put aside for the near future, Yui ate her fish.

The wolf was an odd one. It bit off the heads of the fish almost happily. It was either a sadistic wild animal or it actually enjoyed eating fish heads, skull, fins, eyes and all. Yui got a quick glance between its legs. __He__, she discovered, was a very unusual wolf. She thought it very odd for a wolf to eat fish and not red meat. Maybe that's why his former comrades chased him and tried to kill him. They were almost alike, Yui and the wolf. A couple of odd ducks swimming in the same pond.

The wolf gathered a couple more fish and when they had both satisfied their hunger, Yui left the bones by the riverbed and rose.

"Thank you for helping me. I'll be on my way now."

She had started making her way towards the direction in which she saw the smoke rising behind the trees, only to have the wolf following shortly behind her. Yui turned to it; their eyes met once more. The wolf no longer looked at her with disdain. It had changed its mood in a matter of minutes. Its golden eyes stared at her with a strange knowing look on its face. Yui couldn't help but feel a tiny tug on her heart strings. Neither of them blinked. She wanted to make him go away but couldn't find the heart to do so. When she looked into the wolf's eyes, it was like looking at a long-lost friend. He seemed so lonely. Maybe they had more in common than she thought?

With a guilted sigh, Yui waved him towards her. "Come along if you're going to follow me."

The wolf happily and willingly obliged.

* * *

Feet away from the wooded clearing, an ethereal sphere swirled in midair. Silvery tendrils reached out to the human air as if in want. The gang, minus Hiei, were standing about. Yusuke was tapping his foot impatiently. They had been standing there for at least fifteen minutes. Kuwabara had been complaining about the sharp incline of spiritual energy, probably still coming off the dragon who decided to camp outside the city. Yusuke was not looking forward to confronting that thing. And if Kuwabara kept complaining, he would sock him upside the head until he shut up.

"Satsuki, if I may ask, why are we still standing around? Shouldn't we head through the portal?" Asked Kurama.

Satsuki looked away from her busy work of filing her nails. "I have someone bringing a few supplies. Even as a demon, you'll need some extra protection if you're going to dive head first in Northern clansmen territory."

Mrs. Kagami gave a resentful snort. "A friend of yours?"

"Well, in a manner of speaking. Oh, look, here he comes now!" Satsuki sprung from the rock she had been sitting on and pointed to an object floating in the sky.

It was an old-fashioned Japanese carriage with blue ghost-like flames about the wheels. The carriage descended softly next to Satsuki's rock. Out from behind the black-painted bamboo curtain came a platinum blonde demon, pointed fox ears sitting on top of his head. He was far younger than anybody expected. One had to only guess where Satsuki had found him and who she got him to do anything for her. He wore a white kimono and tawny hakama.

"Mitsukuni!" Satsuki jumped him from the side, wrapping her arms around him and cuddling into his shoulder.

Raising her brow, Mrs. Kagami felt knots growing in her stomach. "Is that how you greet all of your servants?"

"Silly woman," Satsuki playfully chided, "Mitsukuni isn't my servant. He's my lover."

Mrs. Kagami went pale in the face. She could be seen dry-heaving.

"Somehow I'm not surprised that you're a cougar." Clapping her hand over her mouth as if to prevent herself from actually throwing up.

Confusion crossed Satsuki's face but before she could ask, Kurama stopped her.

"What did you have him bring?"

"Oh, right." Satsuki suddenly remembered why she summoned Mitsukuni to begin with. "Did you bring what I asked for?"

Mitsukuni nodded. He got her to loosen her grip so he could into the carriage. He briefly disappeared behind the bamboo curtain and returned with a bundle. Satsuki kissed him on the cheek, causing Mrs. Kagami to gag louder. Ignoring her daughter-in-law, Satsuki handed the bundle over to Kurama.

"This will keep you very warm. It's made from the hide of mammoth elk and lined with dire wolf fur."

Kurama unfolded the dark brown cloth. It was a long parka with wide sleeves, but that wasn't the only thing he found in the bundle. There were matching trousers, twice as big as his normal pants and a wide elegantly woven belt with white and blue thread. He pulled everything over his own clothes. The parka was almost three times his size. If not for the belt given to him, moving would have been difficult with so much heavy fabric weighing him down. Satsuki then present him with suede boots. He quickly switched shoes, stuffing the hem of the thick suede pants into the boots.

"There. Now we can go." Satsuki turned to Mitsukuni. "Would you mind doing one more favor for me?"

"Anything for you," he kissed Satsuki's palm and she giggle like a little school girl.

"That's it. I'm outta here. I'm leaving before I lose my lunch." Mrs. Kagami shouldered her sword and sauntered away from the clearing.

"Would mind keeping my daughter-in-law from doing something rash?"

Mitsukuni eyed Kurama. "Of course." He seemed reluctant to follow Mrs. Kagami and Yusuke into the woods.

"Come along, Kurama. We have much to do and less time to do it," she said stepping towards the portal.

"We're not taking the carriage?" Kurama asked pointing with his thumb to the eerie-looking vehicle with its spooky, ghostly flames dancing around the spokes of the wheel and the dark paint that coated the outside.

"I don't know how to drive that thing. Besides, haven't you ever wondered what it's like to ride on the back of a dragon?" Satsuki climbed in first.

"Not particularly." Kurama followed shortly after her.

The portal closed behind him and he wished he looked before he stepped inside. Instead of solid ground underneath him, Kurama was free falling towards grey earth. Satsuki was nowhere in sight. He closed his eyes and waited for impact only to find himself being caught in midair. A giant clawed hand grabbed him about the mid-section and put him on something solid. He opened his eyes. He saw giant horns curving upwards from a reptile's head. Scales, long, sharp, and icy-blue in color were under his hands, slightly scratching his palms. He whipped his head behind him, watching a pair of giant wings flapping behind him.

"I hope you enjoy the view!" Satsuki's voice was deeper and thicker as it came from her dragon form.

Kurama looked down below him. There wasn't much to enjoy for the moment. There was nothing beneath them except gray earth dotted with black trees and the whiteness of bones. The air became colder the further they went, up towards a mountain peak. Satsuki ascended higher, making Kurama grabbed onto her mane of reptilian flesh to keep himself from falling off. Patches of snow began to crop up. Soon, all too soon, the gray earth was replaced by fields miles and miles long of snow.

"Where are we going to look first?" Kurama shouted over the sound of bristling wind.

"We'll see my son first. Let him know about the situation. The territory is very large. It would take us days to find her. With Akio's help, we can get a stronger search party out there."

"Do you think he'll let her return home?"

"He has to if I tell him to. I'm his mother after all!"

They traveled for hours. Far as Kurama could tell, the land up north was barren. There was plenty of snow but not much else. It wasn't until he began to see dark trees dotting the landscape could he find any living thing below. Creatures like moose and elk, far larger than ones from the human world, trekked over the hills. Giant wolves ran in and out of the forests and in the distance heard the faint cry of crows.

"You can release my mane now, young man."

"Right," he eased his hands away, "I apologize."

"Do you see that pillar of smoke up ahead?" Satsuki pointed with her clawed hand.

Kurama had to crane his neck past her horns. Far away, past a thicket of trees, he found the pillar of smoke Satsuki just mentioned.

"Yes, I see it!"

"We aren't far now. Just keep your mouth shut and let me do all of the talking. They don't take kindly to strangers. I'll explain the situation to my son. He knows that he can't defy me and once he finds out that his __brilliant __idea got his niece into trouble, he'll be all too willing to help."

"Are you sure?"

"Don't worry your pretty little head over it, fox boy." Satsuki chuckled as she began to fly faster towards the village.

* * *

"Akio!" Satsuki thundered after they marched into the palace. Kurama stuck to her like glue. He had already received perturbed looks. Outsiders were not made to feel welcome.

They entered the throne room, a low-ceiling chamber with wooden posts carved with all sorts of intricate designs. What it lacked in ceiling height, it made up for in width. The throne room was the inner most chamber of the palace. The guards had not been expecting her to burst through the various doors to reach the inner chamber. Kurama was able to glide right past them as they were too stunned by Satsuki's sudden arrival that they let him walk right past them.

"Mother," Akio rose from his throne, thronged about by advisors. "I didn't expect you so soon. And…this is the young fox you left Father for?"

Kurama gave Satsuki a confused look. She flushed a shade of pink and avoided the question.

"I'm here because of my granddaughter. Thanks to your brilliant idea, an emotionally unstable boy is holding my granddaughter, the only heir, as prisoner somewhere."

"Don't avoid the question, Mother. Who is this man?"

"Who he is is none of your concern, Akio. I'm here to find Yui before something bad happens to her. She's left alone with a dangerous young man, a young man whose mother you hired to find Yui. Who knows what he's capable of?"

"I'm not answering any questions until you answer mine first."

The two dragons faced off. Satsuki was clearly the more powerful of the two. Kurama could feel her aura, and it was much stronger than Akio's. Despite the huge advantage, Satsuki relented.

"His name is Kurama, and no he's not the fox I've been seeing. That's Mitsukuni. Kurama is a friend of Yui's. He is here to help find her." Satsuki finally answered.

Akio glared at Kurama as if he didn't buy his mother's own words. "She made friends with the likes of him. First, you leave Father for another demon, then Izo marries a human. What next? Do you intend to marry my niece as well?"

"No, sir." Kurama shook his head.

Akio gave him a resenting snort.

"Gentlemen, please," Satsuki snapped. "If you don't mind I'd like to get to find Yui. We can squabble about affairs later. For now, we have something more important to discuss."

"If she had just come to us, none of this would be a problem."

"Her father has been missing for eight years, Akio! How could she have found this place on her own? She never had someone teach her how to use her powers or even locate others of her kind. I had to stay in contact with her mother for the past eight years since Izo disappeared…"

"Or maybe she's more like you than anyone thought."

__SLAP!__

Akio turned his head slowly to reveal the bright red hand print on his cheek. Satsuki grabbed him the fur collar of his parka. Pulling him very close to her face, she growled lowly.

"You will __not __talk to your mother like that, Akio. You may be head of the clan, but I am the Lady of the North, and your mother, and more powerful than you. You will hold your tongue or we can settle this the old fashioned way. That is if you're willing to fight your own mother?" Satsuki released him.

"Forgive me, Mother." Akio bowed his head.

"Excellent, now how about you start forming search parties and Kurama and I will poke around the nearby caves for any signs of either of them." She swiftly turned on her heels. "Come along, Kurama."

As they were leaving, Kurama couldn't help but feel as if someone was glaring at him. He looked over his shoulder to find Akio, head raised, boring a hole in the back of his head. The icy glare was enhanced by the intense, bright blue color in his eyes. Akio wasn't the only one. The members of the court were also giving him the 'death stare,' almost willing ice to swallow him up. Given that these were ice dragons that was within the realm of possibilities. Kurama turned his head right back around and followed the train of Satsuki's kimono.

"Where do we start looking?" Kurama asked as they marched right back out of the palace.

"You should stick close to me. I should warn you. Nearly everything in the North can and will try to kill you. If you're not careful, you might end up at the bottom of the food chain. Even the elk aren't very friendly." Satsuki was walking so fast that she had to pick up the front of her kimono, lift it slightly, and carry it along.

"Do you need to change into something more appropriate?" Kurama didn't think that Satsuki could get very far in her elaborate clothes.

"Don't worry about me, dear." Satsuki chuckled. "I won't stay in this form for very long. It'll be quicker if I change forms and look for Yui as a dragon. We'll be able to…cover more ground."

She suddenly stopped. Kurama noticed how many of the villagers who had poked their heads out of their houses to see the stranger among them, him. They all seemed to stop. Satsuki's ears perked. There was distant whistling in the wind. Kurama could barely hear it given that his human senses weren't as strong as his demon's, but he could definitely hear something. And that something was getting closer. It was the sound of moaning and branches snapping. Slowly turning in the direction of the noise, he could understand why everyone had stopped what they were doing. Miles away, a giant cloud of wind and snow was heading there way.

Just as quickly as everything stopped, everyone dropped everything and started heading for the palace. Mothers picked up their children. Fathers carried the invalid inside. Kurama was nearly thrown off his feet with so many people rushing past him. Satsuki grabbed his arm and pulled him aside into the safety of a little alley where he wouldn't be squished in the stampede.

"W-what's going on?" He watched curiously as the demon world's strongest creatures were fleeing for their lives from a little storm.

"Do you know why there's so few sentient things living this far north?" She pointed to the giant snow storm edging closer. "That's why. Periodic blizzards. That thing will wipe out the village if it's strong enough today. Dragons are strong, but even we can't stand against the forces of nature. The palace has an enormous underground emergency chamber. We'll have to stay there until the storm lays up."

"What about Yui?" The wind was picking up.

Satsuki frowned, white brows furrowed. "We can only hope that she's some place safe."

In the emergency cellar, families were packed in together no better than sardines. Kurama was given innumerable glares. He had seen their weakest point. He only hoped that they would let him leave the village alive. Satsuki was the only reason why they hadn't jumped and attacked him. Nobody would dare to lay a claw on him so long as she was around. She made sure of that.

"Mother, over here." Akio waved his hand. He was seated on a large cushion on a dais, once again surrounded by his advisors and council members. The encircled around a map.

"The last we heard, the boy and his mother were living in a cave here." Akio laid his finger on a range of hills not very far from the village.

"We should check there first," said Satsuki.

"We'll have search parties looking in all for directions. But on the off chance he took her somewhere else, we will contact the Western clan for assistance."

"Our treaties with the West still uphold?"

"You would know that if you were in touch with politics, as is your duty, __Mother.__"

Satsuki snarled and was about to strike Akio in the face again when Kurama held her wrist. He pulled her aside.

"Please, don't do this. I'm not familiar with how politics work here. I will not pretend to know better within a culture I know nothing about. But I will say this, taking out your frustration won't help anyone. We need to bring Yui back home, her real home. If you put your son in a foul mood, he may not be willing to let her do that. Do you want to force Yui to stay here, away from her sister and mother?" Kurama whispered lowly so that the fewer the people could hear him the better.

Satsuki slowly shook her head. "No," she mumbled wiping a tear from her eye.

"Stay calm, please. For Yui's sake."

"You're right. It's been so long since I've see her. She was just a baby when I met her. It's not just because she the heir to the clan that I'm worried about her. As her grandmother, I don't want any harm to come to her." She paused to listen to the heavy winds blowing above their heads. "I really hope she's safe."

* * *

Yui had felt the powerful presence. At first, she thought it was a demon. A gust of wind bit at her ankles, then her knees, and suddenly she was feeling unbelievably cold. The winters in the human world could never prepare her for this. Snow and ice stung her eyes. Her whole world began to bleed into one color, white. For a moment, Yui thought she was in one of her dreams and at any moment she would see the visage of her sister frozen alive. The only figure she could make out would be the wolf. Its massive black shape was barely visible in the gushing winds. If she didn't know any better, she'd say that the wolf was purposely walking slower just to make sure she would be able to follow it. Whatever it was doing, it deserved a huge reward. The wolf led her into a cave where they could wait out the storm.

As she sat against the wall, Yui watched the storm pick up its pace. Before long a blistering storm was wreaking havoc. It was like nothing she had seen before. It was then she realized that she had been shivering. The freezing weather in Sapporo was nothing compared to the raging storm outside. Her wolf friend rested on the other side of the cave, nestled warmly in its own fur while Yui was left in her mutilated and dirty yukata. The makeshift bandage was dotted with blood and the wolf didn't seem to be in pain anymore.

Forced to shiver, Yui wrapped her arms around her body, trying to keep warm. It wasn't long before her chattering teeth echoed against the caves wall. By then the wolf had fallen asleep. Yui had little energy left, but couldn't fall asleep on top of the rocks. Frozen pebbles were embedded in the back of her legs as she curled up. She had to constantly pull at her yukata to keep her modesty. With all of her shivering, chattering teeth, and tugging, the wolf woke up from its nap. It turned its eyes on her and stared blankly. Yui was stared back. The wolf silently watched her for the longest time. To her surprise, it stood up and trotted over to her side of the cave. It came to sit not next to her, but right on top of her. Yui was forced to stretch out her legs to compensate for the mass of fur situating itself on her lap. The wolf stretched its body as much as it could over hers. Warmth spread through her. It radiated off the wolf's body, shielding her from the cold.

"Thank you," she laid down to make it easier for him, though she didn't know if it could understand her.

The wind outside the safety of the cave was whirling and whipping up clouds of snows and ice. It was moaning as it ripped through the hills. Though some would find the environment hostile, fear and worry was swept aside. Fatigue washed over Yui, slowly forced her eyes to close.

The search continued immediately after the storm had settled. Akio and his men spread out in all four directions, leaving Kurama with Satsuki. The wind was still quite strong. He was given a leather tie to keep his hair out of his face while the searched. Once more he climbed on top of Satsuki's back, in her real form of course, and they headed southeast. Satsuki said something about a feeling in her gut. They were above some caves in a relatively barren valley when Kurama spotted something coming out of one of the caves. It looked like a giant black dog or wolf. It was big enough to eat a person whole.

He grimaced, trying not to imagine Yui meeting one of those things.

"There she is!" Satsuki took a sudden nose dive towards the ground.

Kurama wrapped his arms around Satsuki's neck. This part was hard to do considering that she was the biggest dragon he had ever seen, perhaps even the biggest ever. He could barely hook his hands together. Satsuki pulled up just in time and landed safely on the ground. Kurama had been so jostled by the reckless descent and landing that he was thrown off. Luckily, there was a giant pile of soft snow waiting to catch him in the fall. Well, it was the far north. There was snow everywhere. He dusted himself off and turned towards the cave. Yui's pale figure was standing against the dark gray mouth of the cave. Her cheeks turned pink when she recognized Kurama's familiar red hair. Without thinking, he ran to her, not an easy task with the massive amount of snow beneath his feet. Yui ran to meet him, all too happy to see a friendly face. They had their arms wrapped around each other; Yui could barely stand with her legs shaking so badly. Her hands were almost like claws on his back and they were gripping the parka almost enough to render it in two.

Satsuki cleared her throat.

Yui threw herself off of Kurama; her blush deeper than before. She turned to find herself looking into a mirror, almost. This woman, there was something familiar about her but Yui couldn't put her finger on it. It wasn't just the fact that this woman looked just like her. No, there was something else but the similarity was uncanny. The older woman approached Yui and placed her hands on either side of her face. She turned Yui's face left and then right, examining her face up close and personal. Her thin, pale lips smiled at her while Yui was left to do nothing but wonder who this woman was.

"My, my, it's almost looking at mirror, four years in the past. The likeness is…stunning." She kissed Yui on the forehead. "Do you remember me, __Yui__?"

Yui shook her head. "No, should I?"

"Why I'm your grandmother!" She brought Yui into a big hug that nearly choked the life out of her.

"Grandmother?" Yui whispered into the woman's hair.

"Grandmother Satsuki, yes, my dear. You don't know how I've wanted to see you!" She squeezed the girl tighter. "I've been wanting to check up on you sooner and more frequently but I've been so busy trying to find your father."

Yui gently pushed Satsuki away but didn't quite break up the hug.

"Do you know where he might be?" Hope made her heart beat a little faster.

Satsuki frowned. "I'm afraid I don't. I'm sorry. I'm still looking but the only one who knew where he was going was Fuyuki, your aunt. I don't know where she is either."

"Oh," the hope in her heart died as soon as it was born. She bowed her head until her chin touched her chest.

"Hey," Satsuki lifted Yui's chin, "Don't give up just yet. I haven't."

She looked at Yui's tired and dirty form. "Yuck, let's get you to the village and get you cleaned up. I can't have you returned to your mother looking like that."

"You're taking me home?"

"Of course, I'll have a talk with your uncle about it, but you may have to come back if and when he dies."

"Can he really not have children?" Yui hoped that she wouldn't have to take over. She wasn't sixteen years old yet. She wasn't old enough to take on the responsibility to take care of countless lives. Look at her. She couldn't even take care of herself without getting kidnapped.

"I'm afraid so. When he was a child, he was caught in a stampede of elk. He made out of alive but something was crushed beyond healing."

"Oh," looked both disgusted and embarrassed. "Um, can you just take me home now? I-I'm going to need time to get used to the idea. Can I just…go home?"

"Of course," Satsuki swept a stray hair out of Yui's face. "Let's get you home. You look like you could some rest."

Yui took a step forward but fell to the ground. Her stomach was once again rumbling even though she had some fish earlier. Then again, they weren't that big and she had been wondering around for hours, who knows how many? Kurama walked up beside her and not only did he help her up, he put her snugly in his arms. Yui stared at his chest, wide-eyed like a deer caught in headlights. She thought she heard her grandmother chuckle. Satsuki gave Kurama a knowing look, grinning from ear to ear.

"Aren't you a gentleman?" Satsuki chuckled.


	18. Chapter 18

The first thing Yui did when she came home was wrap her arms around her mother and cry into her shoulder. Mrs. Kagami and Mao didn't say anything, only too grateful to say anything about her unkempt appearance. Yui trailed a set of footprints from the front door to her bedroom. Grabbing some fresh clothes and then hopping into the shower for a well-deserved cleansing of all the filth and grime that clung to her skin and had accumulated during her little field trip to the demon world. She soon discovered that even the lukewarm water was too hot for her. Spending a few hours in the North must have decreased her tolerance for heat. The temperature was lowered all the way. The shower knob was pulled all the way to the right until it couldn't be pushed any further.

Unwillingly, her mind was drawn to Ryuunosuke. A bigger part of her wanted to forget to all about him, but she still felt a twinge of remorse and pity for the boy. She knew what it was like to have a missing father, however she never tried to kidnap someone. The blizzard that came out of nowhere very well swallowed him up. The last thing he said to her was probably indeed the last thing he said ever. Thinking about him only made Yui scrub her skin a little harder. The soap was quickly rinsed away like everything else that accumulated on her body and she finished washing the filth of the last several hours from her flesh. Turning off the shower, she dried off with the fluffy, pink towel on the hanger on the door, dressed and braided her hair because she didn't feel like pulling out the hair dryer. Besides, if she couldn't handle taking a lukewarm shower, how was she supposed to withstand the hot hair dryer? When finished, she left the bathroom and walked towards the living room. But nobody was there, except for Kurama. Her cheeks blushed furiously. Come to think of it, she hadn't thanked him for saving her, again. He braved the North to come and save her. Why hadn't she said anything to him yet? He wasn't always going to be there to save her butt from trouble every time she made a dumb decision.

"H-hey." They stood awkwardly in the middle of the living room. Yui looked around. No sign of her mom, sister, or grandmother. "Where is everybody?"

"In the basement, your grandmother said something about having a talk with your mother and your sister went into her room to make a phone call. Probably telling Yusuke and the others that you're home, safe and sound."

Yui looked down and stared at her feet. "About that, I haven't gotten a chance to thank you properly. What with my grandmother right there making it awkward."

"You don't need to thank me."

__There__, there was the voice her sister had daydreams about. It was uncertain if Mao still had a crush on Kurama; it was understandable that Yui felt guilty practically having him all to herself. He even had seen more of her skin than was to be desired by somebody as prudent and modest as she was. It felt unfair.

"But I do," Yui squeaked. "This is the second time you saved me and you didn't have to come to my rescue. I don't want to make it into a habit. I've tried to become stronger, but it seems that I have a lot more to learn."

Her arms were visibly shaking. She couldn't even force herself to look at him in the eye. Yui gripped her hands together, tight, in hopes that it would make the shaking less noticeable. If anything, it probably just made matters worse. She couldn't help it, though. This was just what she was talking about. She hadn't changed at all in three weeks! She was still the same weak, little girl she was when those shape-shifters kidnapped her and beat her with iron chains. There was no difference.

"You did well on your own, I think. You escaped Ryuunosuke's barrier and got yourself free from your bindings. You were able to fend for yourself in your hour of need, foregoing you vegetarian diet…"

"Don't remind me."

"And you were able to get yourself to safety before you were swept up in the snow storm. I think you handled yourself very well on your own. You __are __stronger than you used to be."

With that little piece of encouragement, had Kurama been reading her mind? Yui immediately raised her head, the shaking in her arms stopped briefly.

"You think so? You really think so?" There was a cautious tone in her voice. She didn't want too seem too enthusiastic about things. She still had a long way to go.

Kurama nodded.

"Thank you for saying that much. I don't really deserve it."

He was about to say something when her mother walked in on them.

"It's late and I'm sure Yui needs some sleep, don't you?" There was a higher level of threat in Mrs. Kagami's tone.

Yui nodded her head vigorously and scurried off to her bedroom without saying goodnight. Kurama quietly left without much resistance. He made some polite goodbyes to Mrs. Kagami on his way out but by the looks of it she wasn't in the mood. Her scowling face was the last thing he saw before closing the door behind him. He made his way home. The sun was just now setting. The skies were dyed a vaguely orange and lavender blend. One or two stars twinkled in the opposite horizon which was pretty typical. It would be a pretty clear night.

He passed several streets. Travelers were surprisingly few on a night like this. Not that he was complaining. The quiet was what he needed. Too many thoughts were pressing for his attention, one in particular was especially distressing. Hiei's words rang in his ears, and at what a time! It was a very curious notion the fire apparition put into Kurama's head. He was a lot kinder than he used to be, when he was Youko Kurama the King of Bandits. His human mother helped him in many matters of the heart. However, if not for that fateful day when they ran into each, Yui would just be another face. She didn't stand out and she repressed so much of her energy, she was nearly invisible to his senses. It would have stayed that way for a long while. With how wired she was, it would have been a matter of time before her powers would be made evident. He got curious about her with that piece of glass that he kept hidden in his desk drawer. He was her first to open up to, by accident granted, but he coveted that memory, and that wasn't like him.

He reached home just as the street lights were flickering on. Kurama wandered into the kitchen but found nothing appetizing. His mother left a note on the cabinet saying that she wasn't going to be home tonight. He dragged his feet to his bedroom where he stood for a moment in the doorway taking in the sheer emptiness that he never noticed before. Unconsciously, he wandered over to his desk. Before he knew it, Kurama was opening the drawer where he kept the piece of glass. There was a little puddle of water at the bottom of the drawer and spider leg cracks spread across the surface. It wasn't freezing cold to his touch but it wasn't at all warm either. It felt like he was holding a piece rock that had been buried under the earth for so long that it hadn't seen the light of day in years. He held it up the light, but was not graced with the spectacular rainbow of color as before. It was just another piece of broken glass that he held between his thumb and forefinger. It put the glass shard back in the desk drawer while he wondered why his mind still held onto a strange fascination with a piece of rubbish.

Kurama changed for bed earlier than normal. He was in no mood to study and there were too many thoughts keeping him distracted. He got into bed hoping that eventually these thoughts would die down and he could sleep. He must have sat in bed for hours until it finally overwhelmed him.

Yui was safe now. He shouldn't have had such trouble falling asleep. Kurama was forced to stare at the ceiling for hours. He couldn't bring it to the surface, not even to himself, that perhaps she was more important than other people, but that didn't include his mother. His human mother would always be at the top of the list. Even so, she had competition with Yui running for second place. He was beginning to realize that his feelings for Yui were becoming stronger, as Hiei feared. It would only be a matter of time before he would acknowledge those feelings as true and very real. Her being a dragon only complicated the matter. Nobody really heard of crossbreeding with dragons. They weren't very likable partners what with their habit of eating other demons for sustenance and an increase of power. The thought did worry him, but with Yui he felt that he had nothing to fear. She was better than that.

He slept a dreamless sleep once his eyes finally closed.

The next day was a blur. Nothing extraordinary happened. He was so tired he forgot to ask Yui how she was doing when he got to school. Kurama didn't even remember seeing her either. It was only after the final bell rang was he able to spot the familiar head of white hair sticking out of the crowd like sore thumb. He rushed towards Yui and Mao just as they were leaving the court yard.

"Afternoon, Kurama. How are you?" Mao greeted him.

"Fine, thank you." He was able to catch his breath by then. "How are you?"

"Could be better, could be worse. But isn't it Yui you should be asking about?" Mao gave her sister a little push.

Yui stumbled a little after her sister had not-so-gently clapped her on the back. She was able to stop herself from falling face first into the dirt or kiss Kurama's shoe. Her cheeks were a furious shade of red. Mao smirked at the both of them like she was hiding something, a secret maybe? Whatever the reason behind Mao's smile and the mischievous grin in her eyes, Yui didn't like it very much. Mao always made that look when she was up to no good. Pushing her towards Kurama? What was she thinking? Wasn't she the one who had a crush on him?

"Mao!" Yui hissed.

"What?" She tried to feign innocence. "It was just a little tap."

"You do look a little tired, Yui. Did you get enough sleep last night?" Kurama asked, trying not to notice the dark circles under her eyes.

"My mom chewed me out for a couple of hours. Then she and grandma got into a fight."

"Which lasted for another thirty minutes," Mao added.

"By the time they were finished, it about three in the morning. So, I didn't get the sleep I needed. After I'm done with studying I'm going to take a nap."

"Aw," Mao whined. "I wanted to take you shopping."

"What for? All of my clothes fit me. I don't need new things just yet."

"But there's a festival Saturday. I wanted us to go together. We have to get new kimonos!"

"I-I don't know about that, Mao. Do you even remember the last I wore a kimono?"

"Yeah, I do! It was at the Snow Festival when we were six. You were so cute! You should have seen her, Kurama!"

With that Yui slapped herself in the forehead and tried to bury her face in her hand. Her cheeks couldn't be redder. Kurama was about to say something reassuring when a strange noise reached his ears. One might say it was a dog barking, but there was more to it than that. It was almost like the guttural noise of a wild wolf. The sound was so loud and clear he could have heard a mile a while. Yui and Mao started bickering as sisters are wont to do. They didn't hear. Everyone else could. Students were turning their heads towards the sound of the noise. Heads were turned towards the entrance gates.

"Do you hear that?" Kurama asked them loud enough.

The two girls stopped bickering for a few seconds, long enough to hear it too.

"Sounds like a big dog." Mao noted.

As soon as she said it, the crowd of students dispersed. A couple of them were knocked off their feet. A dark figure was plowing through the crowd, charging as it were. There was shouting and some mild chaos. Onlookers were more curious than afraid as a four-legged beast came abounding into the school yard. They followed the thing that escaped from some zoo as it zipped right past them.

"What is that?" Mao asked, tugging on her sister's sleeve.

"I don't know but it's headed straight for us!" Yui had forgot to upset with Mao for embarrassing her in front of Kurama. She was too busy staring at the heavy mass of black fur charging towards her.

There wasn't time to move out of the way. Kurama managed to do just in time, however, Yui wasn't so lucky. The wild dog pounced on her. It had its giant paws pinning her arms to the ground. Its furry head went for her face and neck.

"Ew! Gross! Get it off!" Yui yelped as the giant dog ran its rough tongue all over her face and neck.

"Aw, it likes you. It really, really likes you!" Mao laughed.

"What is that thing?" Kurama asked, feeling his heart beat return to a normal pace. He had his hand behind his head, ready to retrieve his favorite weapon if necessary. When the dog, though it was too big to be a dog, started licking her, he slowly lowered his hand.

"Get this thing off of me!" Yui sat up on her own without help. She was spitting whatever saliva she got on her lips through the dog's fervent signs of affection. Her sleeves wiped what they could, only to have the dog lick the areas she had just dried all over again.

"Where did it come from?" Kurama asked. He was trying not to laugh. Not only was Yui red in the face, but said face was being kissed all over by a dog's tongue and nose. The more she complained about it, the more affectionate the dog became.

"Back off, already! Quit licking my mouth!" Yui finally to push the dog away.

The dog stood still, mostly. Its big bushy tail kept swinging back and forth. It seemed to have a mind of its own. The dog was all black in color. Its fur was matted in some places and reeked of the wilderness. Yui stared straight into its bright yellow eyes.

"Yui?" Mao nudged her sister's shoulder.

"Hold on." Yui looked at little harder at the dog. "I think I know him."

She looked at one of its hind legs and sure enough a faint blue scrap of cloth was wrapped around its leg. The edges were more frayed than when she put it on him and mud mixed with old blood further ruining the cloth.

"Yeah, I know him. I saved him from his pack in the…um, wilderness. But what's he doing here?"

"It looks to be that it wants to repay the favor." Kurama chuckled.

"I can see that." Yui pushed herself to her feet. "Now what am I supposed to do with it?"

"You can ask Mom if you can keep it." Mao suggested.

"Yeah, right." Yui scoffed. "Look at him. He comes up to my hips. He's too big. Mom would never let in the house."

"You won't know until you try. Besides, maybe having a pet will be good for you. You won't have to talk to yourself when you're alone anymore!" Mao knew she already went too far and started running for the hills.

"I don't talk to myself when I'm alone! Get back here!" Yui noticed after she yelled after her sister that people were staring. She hated it when they did that.

"I-I'm just going to go home now before it gets weirder. I'll see you later." She started walking towards the dreaded hoard of high school students standing near the entrance. The dog at her heels whined. Sighing, she looked at the thing and it whined some more. Yui nudged her head towards the gates. "Come on, then, if you're going to cause a scene."

"Be careful," said Kurama.

"I can't make any promises." Yui grumbled.

* * *

"Please explain to me why a giant dog is seating in the middle of my living room." Mrs. Kagami came home to an unfamiliar smell. Wet dog.

She walked in and found Yui wrapped a giant dog in an old towel. There were puddles of water trailing from the bathroom to the living room. Yui smiled nervously.

"Well, there's a funny story about that. I think he followed me home yesterday."

"Yesterday? As in from the Demon World?"

Yui hesitated in answering her mother. "Yes."

"And you haven't tried to send him back?"

"Believe me, I've tried. He won't leave me alone!"

Mrs. Kagami rubbing her aching temples. She could have sworn a blood vessel just popped.

"And how are you going to feed it?" It probably ate only raw deer meat, something severely lacking in their neck of the woods, so to speak.

"I'll get a part time job or do extra chores around the house. Plus, I know how to save money. Feeding him and keeping him clean won't be any problem. I swear."

"Are you going to take him out for walks yourself?"

"I'll wear my gloves so I can get a good metal chain and I'll take him out when my homework's done every day."

If she had to be honest with herself, Yui was too cute begging to keep the furry beast as a pet. It was like she was a child again and she was trying to keep the baby deer she found near their house as a pet until it grew up and joined the rest of its kind. That's what Mrs. Kagami told her anyway. It would be very difficult to explain to a child why their deer friend got an infection and her daddy had to put the poor thing out of its misery before frostbite did them in. Mrs. Kagami knew nothing about wolves and even less about the kind from the Demon World. It would cause more trouble than it was worth, but judging by the looks of things, Yui had it mostly under control.

"Can you handle this thing?" Mrs. Kagami put her hands on her hips as she waited for the answer.

"I just gave this thing a bath. All by myself. I think I can handle it." Yui smirked, patting the beast on the romp.

The towel slipped to the floor. Free from the confining cloth, the beast shook off the moisture still clinging to its fur. If it had been a smaller wolf, the mess it made in the ensuing tsunami would have been much smaller. With its massive girth, water was spread everywhere. The floors, the couch, a dining room chair, the ceiling, on Yui, on Mrs. Kagami's favorite blue pinstriped slacks and on the woman herself. With a grunt, she wiped the droplets from her face and glared at the wet marks down her front.

"Sorry."

* * *

Yui should have listened to her mother. She realized too late that her new "pet" may just be more trouble than it was worth. Nobunaga, the name she had given to the furry beast that was threatening to pull her arm out of its socket, was more or less dragging her around. Who was walking whom? After Mao continued to beg for getting new kimonos, there were now two people dragging out in public. Mao agreed to meet her at a boutique that sold cuter kimonos than other places, and they just so happened to be on sale thanks to the festival literally around the corner. As Nobunaga pulled her towards the boutique, Yui could already see workers putting together booths and decorations on the street just behind the store.

Yui pulled hard on the leash once they reached their destination. Nobunaga wasn't used to the leash and collar. She was surprised to see how tame he was being. Twenty-four hours ago, he was a wild and free wolf. He stopped every twenty feet to scratch at the thing around his neck. The pet store didn't know they had anything larger enough to fit around him. Yui ended up buying the biggest one they had and bore a few extra holes so it could fit without strangling Nobunaga or get caught in his fur. She sat on a bench while he walked in front of her, back and forth. He hated being on the leash, but she couldn't let him off out here. There were laws against that, at least as far as she knew.

Mao exited the store with two large bags in her hands.

"Hope you like pink!" Little did she know that pink just so happened to be Yui's favorite color.

Yui had just gotten up from the bench when Nobunaga suddenly lurched forward. She was forced into his direction, almost knocking Mao to the concrete.

"Sorry! I don't know what's gotten into him!" Yui was forced to yell when the dire wolf started running away. She wrapped the chains around one gloved hand and fought to keep up with him. Her commands to stop fell on deaf ears.

"Let's go home already." Mao started back up the street. "I think I'll order take out. Do you want your usual?"

A tiny fluttering started in Yui's heart. Mao hardly ever asked her if she wanted something to eat from take out.

"Sure."

* * *

Schools and businesses were quickly emptied by four o'clock in the afternoon the following day, Saturday. Yui usually had plans to see Genkai, but she couldn't build up the nerves just yet to properly apologize for her disrespect and lack of attention to her training. A bit of bowing and groveling would probably do the trick. After what she had to deal with, Genkai at least deserved an apology. When she was leaving the school grounds, more people were staring at her more than usual. This was the third or fourth day she went without her wig. She got away with her white hair by telling the teachers she suffered from albinism. It was a believable story. She was pale enough. Nobunaga was the other reason why they stared as she walked by. Yui thought she left Nobunaga at home but one way or another he escaped. She found him sitting outside the school gates, sitting there like an unmovable lump on a log. He must have been waiting for her for hours. It made her nervous for him to go without his leash but nobody stopped them to correct the problem.

Mao raced her home, reaching the house before Yui could. Nobunaga jumped on the couch and to take a nap while Mao pulled her into her bedroom. Yui had never seen the inside of Mao's room before. It was a menagerie of different elements. Band posters plastered one wall with different anime posters on the opposite, usually ones with female protagonists. The floor was littered with discarded clothes. Yui realized then that there was a reason why she never ventured inside Mao's room. They were as different as night and day. Yui was used to organization. Mao left things on the floor until she felt like picking them up. She was looking around the room, resisting the urge to clean while her sister had her back turned, and Mao traveled towards her bed. She pulled the bags from the boutique from underneath her bed. She handed one of them to Yui who was startled out of her daydream about what she would do to the disheveled bookshelf with a feather duster.

"Put this on." Mao pulled out the contents of the bag in Yui's hands.

The cloth was both soft in texture and in color. The pink of the kimono was the softest shade of pink Yui had ever seen. At the very bottom, skillful embroiders etched a cherry blossom tree with red blossoms to offset the pink background.

"Mao, it's…beautiful." She could cry.

"Do you remember how to put it on?"

"Vaguely, to be honest."

"I'll help you."

It was awkward to take off her clothes in front of her sister. Mao had her strip down to her underwear, clucking at what she considered dreadfully boring bra and pantie set. She fetched a white slip for Yui to wear underneath the yukata. Mao stood at her sister's back while they lifted the slip over her head. Mao couldn't help but stare at the prominent scars on Yui's back. The strange markings looked like chains. They were still very raw and red. She felt her jaw clench at the sight of the scars. Her jaws only loosened once the slip covered most of Yui's back.

Yui slipped through the sleeves easily. Folding it correctly, the left side covering the right, Mao wrapped up her midsection with a bathrobe tie behind her back and then around the front, tying it in a pretty bow, which was useless as the cream colored obi went around Yui's waist next. This was held together with a red cord, decorate with an intricate knot in the middle and a chain with rose and cherry blossom-shaped pendants. The next thing she knew, Mao was on the floor, slipping a pair of new sandals on her feet.

She was pushed towards Mao's vanity where she was assaulted with an array of makeup and hair care products. Mao insisted on "completing the look." Mao ran a brush through Yui's hair until it shined. She ran it and gently pulled her hair to the side. Yui's long locks were pulled through a plain black hair band and ended up with a ponytail. But Mao wasn't quite satisfied yet. She plugged in a hair curler and while she waited for the machine to heat up, she dabbed pink cherry-flavored lip gloss on Yui's lips. When the curler was finished warming up, Mao teased and curled her hair to an inch of its life. Yui had to force herself to sit still but flinched once in a while when the hot curler came a little too close to her ear. Mao had to reassure her several times that she wasn't going to accidently burn her. A velvet choker was placed around Yui's neck. It was made of black velvet, soft against her throat, with a rose in the middle of it. It was now Mao's turn to get dressed.

Mao's kimono was more subtle than Yui's. It was a blue yukata with a simple fish design. There were no other accessories to go with it except the sandals and a pair of silver earrings. She put her hair up in a ponytail, grabbed their purses, and dragged Yui out the door. Nobunaga was still asleep when they rushed out of the house without him.

By the time they got there, music and people were already blaring. Orange and yellow lanterns were lit even though the sun hadn't even set yet. The evening hadn't even come. Brightly colored streamers were hung from every lamppost, door, and tree branch city workers could find. It was late August. If Yui remembered correctly, they were celebrating the Star Festival. Because she hardly ever went outside, Yui didn't pay particular attention to many of the festivals as a growing teenager. As a child, she could remember the Snow Festival in her native Sapporo. Festivals seemed more magical in the eyes of a child. Butterflies were fluttering madly in her stomach. People were looking at her. She couldn't escape. Mao's hand was so firmly wrapped around her wrist, the chance of slipping away and disappearing into the crowd were slim to none.

"Mao, Yui!" They heard a voice calling them.  
Mao pulled them to a stop. Yui hid behind her back as three familiar faces emerged from the crowd. Yusuke was at the forefront of the trio with Keiko right behind and Kuwabara behind her. Mao waved them over, much to Yui's great disappointment. She tried behind her sister's back but it would prove to be a fruitless effort.

"What cha doin' back there?" Yusuke asked.

Mao pulled Yui front and center. Yui was too busy staring at her feet and wringing the life out of the kimono sleeve hems to meet their acquaintances in the eye. Her blush deepened.

"Yui!" Keiko sounded so surprised. "You look so cute."

"I'm going home now." Yui tried to make a break for it but Mao caught her by the arm and spun her around.

"Would you relax and take the compliment?"

"I don't know why you dragged me out here. Like this. I am not in my comfort zone right now. People keep staring at me." Yui was forced to walk along with them. She tried to squeeze her arm out of sister's hold. Again, her efforts were fruitless. It was like she wasn't trying at all.

"Have you seen yourself in the mirror? You're so stinkin' cute right now. People are looking at you because you're gorgeous. Tell her, you guys. Be honest," Mao grabbed Yui's face and squished her cheeks until her lips were puckered; Yui was sure she looked like a bloated fish with Mao's hand squeezing her cheeks in such a way. "Is this the face a beauty or what?"

"Kind of reminds me of a puffer fish."

"Yusuke!" Keiko slapped him on the back of his head. "I think she looks really good. Pink is such a good color on you, Yui-chan!"

"D-do you really think so?" Yui could barely make out her own voice.

"I bet Kurama would like it," suggested Yusuke.

"I'm going home." Yui tried to make another break for it but Mao wouldn't have any of that.

She dragged her sister along through the festival. Yui was getting dizzy from the heat rushing to her head. After a while, she gave up resisting. It was very unusual for her to be out in public, with her sister, with friends. Could she even call the other three friends? She had nothing against. It was the fact that she didn't have many friends growing up. She knew her sister as a friend during their childhood together and that was all they knew before their father disappeared and went their separate ways. Yui owed Yusuke and Kuwabara a lot for helping her out when they barely knew her. But was that enough to form a decent kind of friendship and bond? The whole thing was giving Yui more anxiety the more she thought about it.

Did they even consider her to be a friend? They certainly acted like it. They were joking around, goofing off. Yui couldn't help laugh sometimes and offer a small smile. Meanwhile, her stomach was turning with the butterflies swirling around her insides, making her nauseous. The whole time she was there at the festival with them, her mind was always drawn to the idea that they were only being nice to her because of Kurama. She wasn't the most pleasant or interesting person to be around. There were many character flaws Yui couldn't help but list in her head. She was anti-social, cold, often appeared as unfeeling, bookish, too shy for her own good, and easily flustered. She had personality issues. She could barely control her powers and could fly over the edge at the slightest indiscretion. She was smart, probably as smart as Kurama and her interests and hobbies might be considered boring. Architecture? Really, that was __really __one of her interests? Was it any wonder she had friends at all?

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. The anxiety was building up. Yusuke and Kuwabara were pretending to have fun, but they must have realized that she was as exciting as dirt. They were only trying to make her feel better.

"I need some air," Yui somehow managed to slip out of Mao's grasp and escaped into the crowd.

Mao and the others tried to run after her but she managed to duck into a near empty alley. It must have been hard for them to lose her with her white hair sticking out like a sore thumb. The unusually large crowd this year helped greatly. Yui slipped into a deserted area. The narrow river lay just ahead of her. She walked across the lit bridge and leaned against the handrails. The orange glow of festival lights bounced off the rippling waters. Lanterns and giant streamers fluttered in the early evening wind. As if the fog had lifted, Yui could breathe.

The sun had set some time ago. There were faint hints of its orange, yellow, and lavender leftovers lingering in the sky as they waited to fade into the increasing darkness. A full moon was slowly rising in the opposite direction just as they sun was dying out in the west. Silver moonbeams were cut into ribbons in the ripples and changing tides flowing just below her. Yui was left to stare at her reflection for the first time in the water. She couldn't see very well because of the ripples and the fact that the bridge was too far from the water to get a good idea of what she looked like in the water's reflection. She noticed how much color she had in her cheeks, but that could have been easily attributed to her flustered embarrassment and running away. But aside from her rosy cheeks, Yui was forced to admit something, something that her sister tried to force her to acknowledge. She was pretty.

Yui touched her cheek, feeling the unfamiliar warmth in her cheek. Her lips were slightly parted. The lip gloss accented her small, pink lips. There was a little extra shine to them. Yui didn't care for the cherry flavor, preferring lemon or strawberries, but she had to admit that the gloss did wonders. Imagine if she actually let Mao do her makeup on a regular basis. Yui had never been vain, yet here she was admiring her own reflection.

A yellow lantern passed underneath the bridge, catching her attention. This lantern was followed by a baby blue one, then a pink one, and another yellow lantern. Pretty soon, dozens of brightly colored lanterns were cruising down river. The water lazily rolled them along, southbound to some unknown destination.

"Yui?"

Kurama's voice startled her. Yui looked up. She didn't usually see him in casual clothing. She had only seen him in their school's uniform. He slowly made his way up the bridge as he came across from the opposite end. He seemed to be traveling alone. Yui's heart beat started to increase, like it was trying to escape its prison. Her greatest fear at this moment would be that Kurama could hear her racing heart as it thrummed against her chest.

"Yui," he repeated. He was shortly stunned into silence.

Yui was bedecked in pink from the bottom of her kimono's hem to her cheeks, flushed and full of color. Mao had to have had a hand in how Yui was dressed and looked at the moment. Kurama doubted that Yui put this outfit together on her own. He rarely saw in her in any other color besides maroon from her uniform and black, blue, and sometimes white when she wasn't at school. For some reason, the baby blue kimono she was wearing the other day didn't suit her very well, but then again the memory was tainted by Ryuunosuke's kidnapping of her and Yui's fight for survival in the harsh north. She looked so weak and sickly, distraught and frightened. He could remember well how she clung to him with a desperate need to hold onto to something real and solid. He tried not to think about what she had been through during her kidnapping. If he __ever __saw Ryuunosuke again, the boy would not live to see another sun rise.

"I-It looks weird, doesn't it?" Her hands were wringing the kimono's sleeves. "Mao talked me into it but all I've gotten is people staring at me. It's unnerving."

"No," he answered calmly as he tried to distract himself from looking at her lips. "I think that it looks very good on you."

Kurama chuckled as Yui's cheeks darkened a little more. If he didn't stop soon, the heat would make her faint in his arms. Not that he had much a problem with that.

"You're just saying that." Yui looked unsettled. She didn't believe him.

It took Kurama several minutes to think of a proper response. He needed her to believe him for some reason. Her approval seemed necessary at the moment.

"No, I'm not. I think you look—"He paused. "I think you look __beautiful__."

"I won't fall for flattery." Yui brought her fingers to her lips. Glancing sideways, she started to bite her fingernails.

"It's not flattery. I'm being honest." Kurama pulled her hand away from her mouth. "And nail biting is unhealthy."

"You think I don't know that!" Yui raised her voice and it took a moment for her to realize it. "S-sorry."

"Are you feeling alright?"

"J-just a little anxious."

"Whatever for? Aren't you having a good time?"

"How can I when people keep staring at me? Like you're doing right now?" Yui stared at her reflection in the river. "I have people staring at me because I look like a Snow Maiden. They're not looking at me because I'm...pretty."

Her self-abasement and low esteem hurt him when it really shouldn't. Kurama leaned against the handrails next to her. He kept a short distance between them, just to keep her from going over the edge. By all appearances, Yui was unsettled by her situation. Mao may have gone too far by thrusting her sister into a situation in which Yui wasn't emotionally ready for. Yui's face was marred by worry lines and nervous eyes. She couldn't give him direct eye contact. She kept picking at her fingernails or fumbling with the hems of her sleeves. It was obvious this was the first time she stepped out into the public sphere looking like this.

"But you are. You don't give yourself enough credit." He turned his back towards her as he reached for something behind his neck. With a few adjustments, the normally red rose he reserved for fighting started to shimmer with pale light as he infused his energy into the flower. Red faded into pink and snapping the stem to the desired length, Kurama turned around.

"Yui?"

She hesitated to turn but when she did, Yui's eyes immediately fell on the rose he held in his hand.

"Goodness," Yui gasped. "Did you just grow that?"

He nodded. "For you."

Leaning carefully towards her, one hand went behind her head to hold it steady while his other hand was busy putting the rose in the junction between her scalp and the curled side ponytail. The stem was just short enough to avoid poking out on the other side but long enough to find a secure spot in her hair.

"Look for yourself." Kurama pointed towards the river.

Yui didn't speak, or perhaps she couldn't, when her eyes lay on her reflection. All he did was put a flower in her hair. He didn't put a spell on her to make her look any different or any more beautiful. She touched the petals feeling nothing but velvet between her fingers.

"Kurama, I—"

"Yui!"

They both whipped towards one end of the bridge. Mao was waving both of her arms in the air. Yusuke, Keiko, and Kuwabara were standing nearby, also beckoning.

"I-I'd better go."

Kurama had no choice but to let her go. He stayed where he was, watching Yui rejoin her sister, who seemed fascinated by his gift. Mao turned towards him. She offered him a knowing smile. He could have been mistaken, however if asked Kurama would have to answer honestly that he saw a faint glimmer of mischief in Mao's eyes, even at that great distance between them. He watched Yui and the rest of his friends slip into the crowd and head back towards the festival. He fought to resist going towards them, but he wasn't interested in participating with them. He happened upon Yui by coincidence. Leaving his house earlier, all Kurama was looking for was a breath of fresh air, the walls of his bedroom suddenly confining and restrictive. He told his mother that he was going for a walk, which he did, so he wasn't lying. It would be lying if he said he wasn't hoping to catch a glimpse of Yui on his walk. The question over her well-being kept pestering him all day. He had seen very little of her at school and had been detracted from asking her directly. Something always got in the way. Namely, another female student who had suddenly taken an interest in him, however her name escaped him as he had been paying so little attention to her that even her face was a blur and made no remarkable imprint in his memory. She wasn't his type, anyway.

It wasn't a surprise when Hiei finally appeared beside him in the river's reflection. His familiar scowling face annoyed Kurama.

"And how are you, Hiei?" He asked politely.

"Hn." The fire apparition grunted.

"A conversationalist as usual," Kurama chuckled. He rested his hand chin on his hand. "Is there something you wanted to say to me? You don't normally go out of your way to make contact, especially when so many humans are around."

"I was wondering whether or not you had finally been overwhelmed by your mental illness. And my fears were just confirmed."

"Mental illness?" Kurama turned to him. "What are you talking about?"

"I saw the way you were staring at that __girl__. If you're not careful, Kurama, she will eat you alive. It's in her nature."

"To be fair, Hiei, it's also in her nature to hoard jewels and such and fight over territory. As far as I can tell, Yui is the most humble and peaceful person I have met. She doesn't have interests in any of those things. I believe that you're wrong about her character."

"Her character has nothing to do with it," Hiei angrily retorted. "Once she has come to the realization that her powers can go over and beyond what she can do now, her instincts will take over. She will realize who and what she is. She may have a human mother, just like you, but unlike you, she is pure demon. Her father's blood runs only through her veins. She won't have any need to keep either you or me alive. Her kind obtains power by eating the flesh of those who become their prey. And I don't know about you, but I'm not going to become her first meal."

"What are you saying, Hiei?" The hairs on the back of Kurama's neck stood on end.

"If I catch her in the act of eating another demon, I'm killing her. It's nothing personal, really. It's just a matter of survival of the fittest, and I'm not going to be fodder for a dragon's rise to power."

Kurama's eyes narrowed. "I highly recommend you watch what you say, Hiei."

Hiei rolled his eyes and started down the bridge. "And I recommend you watch your head, fox." And he flitted out of sight, disappearing as he often did into thin air.

Kurama stared at his reflection in the water. The last of the lanterns had already cleared. He was no longer puzzled. He already knew where his heart lay.

* * *

"What are you going to wish for, Yui?" Mao finished tying her paper charm around the tree branch.

"I-I don't really need to wish for anything. I'm good." She shoved both her hands into her kimono sleeves.

"Oh come on!" Jeered Yusuke as he tied his to a different branch. "There's nothing you want to wish for?"

"There isn't anything you want?" Added Keiko.

"Really, there isn't anything I want. Even there was something, I don't think it would come true anyway."

"Wow, you are really pessimistic." Mao patted her on the shoulder. "Not even a date with someone special?"

Yui's face couldn't turn any redder than it already was.

"In case you've forgotten, I just a left an abusive relationship. My first boyfriend knocked me unconscious with a ball of ice and kidnapped me. A date is the last thing on my mind right now!"

Abashed, Mao looked the other way. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad stuff."

"I-it's alright. I don't need anything. I-I think I have everything I want at this time in my life."

There was a chorus of 'aww's' surrounding her. The words that she should've stopped herself from saying came out without warning. But there was __one __thing she wanted. Secretly, she had tucked a blank paper charm in her sleeve. When the others were finished, Yui quickly scrawled out her wish on the paper when they had their backs turned. The written words were in no why creative or even remotely poetic. She penned her wish but didn't care if it made sense to someone else. When finished, she tied it to the nearest branch before returning to the others.

* * *

"How long does she have to stay in the demon world?" Mrs. Kagami was nursing her second glass of red wine. There was always something about visits from her mother-in-law that made her reach for either her katana or for the liquor cabinet. Today, it was the latter.

"Six months, maybe longer." Satsuki didn't appear as the regal Lady of the North. By all appearances, she was rather somber. Her role of a messenger didn't come with tidings of joy.

Yuki spewed some of her wine and it dribbled down her chin. She quickly grabbed a nearby napkin and cleaned herself off. She looked at Satsuki, waiting for her mother-in-law's sharp look of disapproval. When the Lady of the North said nothing and made no other sign of disgust, Yuki set down her glass, just to be on the safe side.

"Six months?" Yuki repeated. "They do realize that she has to go to school? That her home is here, with me and her sister? That she can't just drop everything and answer their beck and call?"

"Yui may be your daughter but she is Izo's daughter as well, and as Izo's daughter, that comes with certain responsibilities. Without Akio having heirs of his own, the only other logical heir presumptive is Yui."

"Can't he adopt children and make them his heirs?"

"It doesn't work like that. The heir must carry the headsman blood. If it were as simple as you say, then I wouldn't be here. Yui is the only answer to our dilemma. She is the last person who cares the blood of the head clan. Without the headsman, the territory of the north will fall to our enemies such as the Ookami and countless others. The headsman is no figure head. He, or in this case she, is imbued with the power to rightly claim the territory as the dragon's. Without a headsman, our way of life will be destroyed, not to mention bring embarrassment and shame on us as dragons. Our honor would be tarnished not only before other demons, but to the other three main clans as well."

"I get it, I get it." Yuki growled. She took a long sip of her wine. "But isn't there a cousin or second cousin. An uncle or aunt. Somebody? I mean, seriously. Yui isn't even going to be sixteen until next year. Do you people really want a teenager to be the heir presumptive and soon-to-be headsman of an entire culture and people?"

"We don't have much of a choice. There is no one else. Ever since Akio took the seat of power, his inability to have heirs has sent scores of families elsewhere. They were rightfully nervous. The headsman family has dwindled. Many of my relatives and those of my first husband's were killed in wars between demons and the other dragon clans. As far as we know, Yui is the last the blood-related member of the headsman family. She may be young and inexperienced, but the other option is—"Satsuki bit her lip.

"Who? Who's the other option?" Yuki rose from her chair, shaking the table.

"The only other person who might be able to fill the role is…someone nobody wants."  
"You don't mean?"

Satsuki nodded. "My daughter. She was born the youngest of my three children. She can still have a family of her own and continue the blood line. After what happened so many years ago, she is the last person anybody wants to take on the role of the headsman. You wouldn't want to see Fuyuki take a seat of power, do you?"

Yuki's face paled at the news, color draining from her cheeks. She slowly sank back into her chair. Her hand gripped her wine glass. The pressure almost cracked the glass under her fingers. The mere mention of that woman's name made her blood boil. Memories of that night flashed before Yuki's mind.

"No," Yuki spat before draining the rest of the contents in her glass.

Just as she set it down, a chill ran up her spine. Yuki's eyes were peeled open wide like somebody threw a bucket of ice water on her head. She glanced at Satsuki who was making the same kind of face.

"Do you feel that?"

There was a sudden surge of dark energy coming from somewhere in the city. Satsuki nodded silently.

"The girls!" Yuki knocked over her glass of wine and ran to her bedroom, grabbing her sword.

* * *

The sights and sounds of the festival were starting to die away as the crowds went home, group by group. Yui tried to stifle the yawn that couldn't be helped. Mao caught her in the act.

"Wow, Yui. It's almost midnight. I didn't think you would stay up so late."

"What does she have a bed time or something?" Asked Yusuke.

"Yes, some of us actually like to sleep at night." Yui covered her mouth with her kimono sleeve.

"Yui's got the right idea." Keiko yawned as well. "I've got to get up in the morning. You know, Yusuke, for school."

He shrugged his shoulders and looked the other way, trying to pretend he wasn't listening.

"Yeah, so do we." Mao admitted. "We'd better head out of here."

"It was nice seeing you again, Yui." Keiko said to Yui

She nodded.

"Like wise."

"Do you girls need somebody to walk you home?" Yusuke asked.

Mao looped her arm around Yui's.

"I think we can manage."

"I don't know," Yusuke went on, glancing at Yui. "I don't really feel comfortable leaving you guys defenseless."

"My sister's a dragon. We're hardly defenseless."

"Maybe Kurama could walk you home. I thought I saw him earlier," suggested Kuwabara.

"Really, it's okay. We're a couple of brave girls. I think we can handle it."

"I'd rather not take those chances." Yusuke stared ahead of them, Keiko running up to catch up. "I don't hate to have Yui kidnapped...again."

While they bickered on, Yui trailed slightly behind. Suddenly, she felt something. Something was not right about the air, she could feel it. Her eyes glanced around her. Nothing out of the ordinary as far as she could tell. She stretched this and all her other senses to their limit. Still, her searching was fruitless. There wasn't anything around them.

Then why did she feel this sudden apprehension?

Why did the little hairs on the back of her neck stand on end?

Why did those clouds look so ominous?

Perhaps it was all just her imagination. Yui shook her head gently and avoided drawing attention to herself, though she did stiffen slightly over the smallest noise. She yelped, an undignified yelp it was too, and jumped as the feral thing leaped on top of a garbage can lid which had been standing right next to her. The others laughed as Mao patted her hand, trying to ease her fears like she was just a small child. Yui couldn't help but feel ten times smaller than she was.

"Relax, would ya? It's just a cat." Yusuke chuckled as he looked over his shoulder.

The feral thing skidded in front of her, running as it were.

"Well, pardon me. I can't help being jumpy sometimes."

"Aren't you a dragon? Shouldn't you be afraid of nothing?"

Yui's mood soured further.

"Don't remind me," she hissed under her breath. Yusuke's head had already turned; she doubted he even heard her.

"I'm sorry, Yui. Are you okay?" Her sister leaned close and whispered.

"I think I'll be okay. I just keep feeling–" Yui didn't know if she should finish or not. She touched her index finger to her lips.

Mao quickly noticed the worrisome look that overcame Yui. Her brows were scrunched up, her eyes narrowed, and she had this odd look in her eyes, like she was thinking too hard.

"What is it? What do you keep feeling?"

"I don't want to worry you."

"You're worried about something. I can see it written all over you face. Now, come on and tell me." Mao tightened her grip on Yui's arm in a reassuring manner.

Yui looked deep into Mao's eyes. She swallowed hard. Her lips opened. She was about to say it when Keiko stopped the whole group in the middle of their tracks. She had her hand, palm up, facing the sky.

"It feels like it's snowing."

They gathered around her, watching the snow drift in her hand.

"It looks more like ash to me." Yusuke added.

"But look," Keiko pointed to the snowflakes melting in her hand. "They're melting. And they don't feel hot at all. They're cold as ice."

"But what kind of snow is black?" Asked Kuwabara.

All the rest were puzzled with what was going on. Yui turned towards the nearest streetlamp. Sure enough, its yellowing light black snow was drifting from the sky. A cold chill ran up her spine.

"We have to get inside. Now." She grabbed Mao's hand and hauled her close. They started speed-walking down the street until Yusuke called after her.

"What's the big idea, Yui? Do you know what's going on?"

Yui stopped at once. She whipped around, still clutching Mao's arm.

"Do you think that black snow is a natural occurrence? Somebody's here, and that somebody is not a person you would want to meet, Yusuke. I suggest that we find a safe place to hide before it's too late."

"Who's here?" Asked Yusuke.

They stared at her. Of course they would, she had all the answers. Mao couldn't remember, but Yui did. The last time she saw black snow was the day her life, and the lives of her family, was changed forever. She remembered that day very well. It was a full moon, just like this. Mao and Yui, still children, wandered away from their parents. Mao, being the more adventourous of the two, pulled Yui deep into the woods, the one place they knew they shouldn't go but Mao's curiosity got the better of her and she loved nothing more than to bend and break a few rules. She tried to reassure Yui that they would find their way back, but the woods were so dense they couldn't even see the other side. So like a fairy tale monster waiting in the darkness, _she _showed up out of nowhere. Yui remembered very well those blue-purple eyes staring down at her, her shiny black hair that trailed down her back, and that hideous grin she wore. Her pale hands were outstretched to meet them and with a strange voice, she called herself their aunt, even though their father never made any mention of having siblings. They were just a couple of dumb kids lost in the woods. What happened that night wouldn't have happened if they just stayed beside their parents.

Yui struggled to summon up enough courage. She swallowed hard and said the dreaded name she would never forget.

"Fuyuki...my aunt."

"That aunt of yours that attacked you when you were kids?"

She tightened her grip on Mao, who was staring at her with a look that combined fear and confusion.

"The black snow is her calling card. We have to head indoors right now!"

"_Leaves from the vine, falling so slow. Like tiny fragile shells, drifting in the foam..." _A voice, soft and delicate yet one that bespoke of dread and fear-inspiring awe drifted in the wind. It echoed. It seemed to be coming from everywhere. Yusuke pulled Keiko behind him and Kuwabara stretched his pyschic abilities to their limits. The dark energy was more apparent now. They could all feel it. Like a heavy shadow creeping up on them.

"What the he-" Yusuke started.

Heads turned towards the sound of singing voice, a figure covered by the shadows made its way through an empty alley.

"_Little soldier come marching home, and brave soldier boy...comes marching home._"

The figure came clearer as it marched towards the parchment yellow glow of the streetlights. A tall, womanly figure carrying an open parasol made its way towards them. Its movements were deliberate, slow. Whatever it was, it wanted to prolong their suffering.

Fuyuki emerged, exactly as Yui remembered her. She was tall, curvy, and her madness was well hidden. Her eyes, an unusual shade of indigo, were swirling with the very color of malice and madness. Her thin lips were pressed in a small grin. As she sang, silver fangs glittered against the outer darkness. Pale hands spun the purple parasol she shouldered. On her feet were a pair of fine geta sandals, making her taller than she was before. Her kimono and hakama were black as her inky hair, but the haori on top of her kimono was dark purple, dotted with black snowflakes.

The light breeze chilled. All but Yui shivered in its wake. Mao clung to her for warmth but Yui pushed her behind her back.

"My darling little child. Look how big you've gotten."


	19. Chapter 19

"You'll find that I'm not so little anymore," Yui, then turning to Mao, "Stay behind me."

Fuyuki glanced at Yui, eyes narrowed as she looked at the girl from head to toe and back up again. She chuckled.

"I'm not all that impressed. From what I've heard you're not that strong. In fact, rumor has it that you're perhaps the weakest member of our clan." She turned to Mao. "And your sister doesn't fair any better. I see that that scar Yui gave you healed quite nicely."

"Listen, lady, I don't know who you think you are–" Mao tried to fight her way past Yui, but it was futile. Yui easily pushed her sister back behind her.

"Mao, don't." She said sternly.

"Old hag!" Yusuke shouted.

Yui and Mao turned just in time to see Yusuke aiming for the figure in front of them, poorly at that.

"Spirit Gun!"

Yui immediately pushed Mao to the concrete as the shot rang out in the streets. The pressure from the Spirit Gun sent the hairs on the back of Yui's neck tingling and standing upright. Yui remained prone on the ground, however, her sister wasn't pleased with nearly being shot. Mao rose up to her elbows, a furious appearance she now donned. She opened her mouth to cuss and yell and chew him out, but Keiko was already one step ahead of her. Keiko pulled Yusuke's sleeve and nearly drove him in the ground.

"You idiot! You could've killed them! What were you thinking?"

"They got out of the way! They saw me aim, didn't they?"

"I swear, one of these days..."

Keiko wouldn't get a chance to finish that sentence. Kuwabara looked up and pointed his finger to the sky.

"Hey, guys–"

A black shadow descended on them. The snow storm picked up. A flurry of black snow hurled down on them, around them. Yui forced herself to her feet, but with much difficulty. Her knees were wobbling. She managed to find her balance.

"Everybody! Cover your eyes! Don't let the snow get in your eyes!"

Yui bent down to the ground and knelt next Mao. She tucked Mao's head in her arms.

"Stay down, please. Keep your eyes closed." Yui almost begged knowing just how stubborn Mao could be.

"What are you going to do?" Mao asked, her voice barely audible above the howling wind that now blasted around them.

"What I should have done a long time ago," Yui gritted her teeth. Once she made sure that Mao would stay put, she got to her feet and edged towards the street, the epicenter of the snowstorm.

The street, the whole block, seemed to have been cut off from the rest of the world. Traffic stopped. The lights from the festival were hidden by the dark shadows of buildings and the blistering black storm swirling around them. She looked to where Fuyuki had just been standing before Yusuke fired his Spirit Gun. There was no physical trace of her. Yui looked around. Fuyuki was still with them. The storm that cut them off from the rest of the world was raging. She had to be near.

But where?

"Yui!" It was Yusuke. She could barely make out his form in the snow. He had pulled Keiko close to him. He, Kuwabara, and Keiko were wise enough to listen and cover their eyes with their arms.

"Yusuke!" Yui edged towards him. The concrete had become slick with eyes. In her sandals, she couldn't take a step without skidding. Years of ice skating prevented her from ever meeting the ground.

"What's goin' on? Why is this stuff?" He hollered over the winds that cut through their faces.

"The snow that's created by my aunt is different from the snow I can make. It's poisoned. If it gets into your eye, you'll die."

"Good to know!" He shielded Keiko with his jacket.

"You guys stay back. I'll take care of her myself!" Yui slowly turned, facing towards the middle of the street. The wind picked up even more. The sleeves of her kimono were flapping madly and the petals from Kurama's rose were scattered into the darkness.

"Are you sure?"

"Probably not." She answered in all honesty but she headed towards the heart of the storm anyway.

She looked to the sky, knowing that she was the only one immune to the poisoned black snow. Her search still yielded nothing. There was nary a chance of that vile woman. Yui couldn't spy the stark purple haori against the blackness.

"Fuyuki!" She shouted, her lungs filling with icy wind and pricking the inside of her throat with tiny daggers. "If you wanted to face me, do it now! Don't be such a coward! I'm here. Show me where you are!"

Suddenly, the winds died a little. The shadow that Kuwabara pointed out earlier finally touched ground. Only instead of Fuyuki's human-form, Yui stood face to face with her true form.

A hulking dark gray mass, a serpentine body, leathery-bat wings tipped with gunmetal-gray claws, horns like a wild elk, and four powerful, clawed hands, touched down. Fuyuki was holding back, restraining herself. In the pit of Yui's stomach, she knew that this form of hers wasn't even her _real _size. Call it animal instinct, or in this case, dragon instinct, but there was something not right. Fuyuki's dragon body curled around itself once her front claws sank deep into the asphalt, like a snake. An earth-shattering tremor erupted underneath Fuyuki's weight. It knocked all of them off-balance. It was Yui, however, who got to her feet the fastest. She was going to prove just how strong she was. Fuyuki in her dragon form or not, this changed nothing. Too many years, Yui felt sorry for herself and committed too much time on penance she didn't deserve. It was because of this woman that her life, her family's life, was changed forever. Fuyuki was the reason why her father disappeared. She was going to get that information out of her even if it killed her.

"Color me not impressed." Bluntly, Yui hollered.

Fuyuki turned her reptilian head towards the girl. Her swirling eyes were slit in the middle. She narrowed them as she glared at the young girl who dared to raise her voice against an elder.

"Come again?"

"I'm not all that impressed anymore." Yui continued. "I'm _not _afraid of you anymore. I won't be afraid of you a second longer. You've ruined my life. The life of my family! But you're not getting away with it."

With one swipe, Yui was sent flying, and then crashing, into the side of a parked car. A back-breaking crunch almost knocked her unconscious. Shards of glass tinkled down the sides of her head like beads. Slowly, carefully, Yui rose to her feet again, staggering but otherwise alright.

"Yui!"

She felt someone tug on her arm and pull her out of the streets. She had been so busy with staring at Fuyuki that she didn't even notice how somebody could just run up to her side and yank her out of the way. Her back was badly beaten; she'd be feeling that in the morning. Her neck was scratched up with tiny scrapes from broken glass. A warm hand seized her cold one, sending a wave of brief heat up her arm. Yui looked.

Kurama was panting. His eyes were open wide.

Yui leaped forward and covered his face with the wide sleeve of her kimono.

"What are you doing? If you get her snow in your eyes, it might kill you!"

Kurama moved the sleeve from out of his face. He caught her arm and turned towards the sky.

"Look." He simply said.

Grandmother Satsuki's magic carriage was floating in the middle of the storm, Satsuki standing on top of it. She moved her arms in a waving motion. The black snow was swirling around in a black tornado and sucked into the carriage.

"Oh Fuyuki!" Mrs. Kagami could be seen striding down the road, sword unsheathed.

Yui shot up from the concrete but Kurama held her back.

"Let your mother and grandmother handle this." He pulled her close.

"My mom's a sitting duck. She'll be killed with Fuyuki in this form!" She struggled but couldn't break free.

"Just watch." Kurama hugged her close to keep her out of harm's way.

Fuyuki turned towards the sky and then at Mrs. Kagami.

"Well, well, two of my favorite people have come to see me. What a marvelous surprise." Her voice was booming and echoed. She smirked, showing off her many, many white fangs.

"I've been waiting so long to do this." Mrs. Kagami had murder on the brain at the moment. "And I'm going to enjoy every second of this." Once she was within range, she charged for the dragon.

* * *

Kuwabara slowly opened his eyes even though he wasn't supposed to. The chill of the tiny snowflakes could no longer be felt on his back. He moved his arms away from his face.

"Hey, Yusuke, the creepy black snows stopped."

Yusuke lifted his head.

"You're right." He righted himself. "You stay here, Keiko. This won't take long." He cracked his knuckles.

"Wait a minute!" Keiko yelled after him. "Are you crazy? That's a dragon. An actual dragon. You idiots are going to get yourselves killed!"

"Don't worry about it!" Yusuke hollered back. "Like I said it won't take long."

Just as Kuwabara and Yusuke were only a few feet away from Fuyuki, currently distracted by Mrs. Kagami's attacks, which they would question later, a white blur stood in their way. A young platinum blonde fox jumped in front of them, blocking their path.

"Hey, you're that one guy with Yui's grandmother."

"You mustn't interfere."

"Come again?" Yusuke's fists tightened as his eyes narrowed.

"Fuyuki has activated her territory. As Spirit Detective, you are not allowed to interfere with business associated with dragons." Mitsukuni opened his arms and spread them as far as he body would allow. "Technically speaking, right now, this area belongs to Fuyuki."

"Explain please. What do you mean 'activated her territory?' It sounds like a bad RPG reference."

"I'm not sure what RPG means, but there is a technique used by dragons to turn any number of miles of land and sea into their personal property by infusing it with their demonic power. The land becomes their own and because of the energy seeped into the land, it becomes a home field advantage. The more energy is given to the land, the dragon the dragon becomes."

"Can't it be undone?" Yusuke looked at Mrs. Kagami, who was doing most of the fighting. Satsuki was dealing with her own issues trying to contain the black snowstorm.

"Only if the dragon is knocked unconscious or if another dragon, a more powerful one, is able to override the former's territory."

"Then get your girlfriend up there to deactivate the territory or whatever the hell you call it! There's a giant reptile sitting in the middle of the road!"

"If my Satsuki were to activate her own territory, your city would be under miles of snow so high it would reach the top of those buildings over there," Mitsukuni pointed with a sharp claw to a pair of sky scrapers far off in the distance.

"Is she that strong?" Kuwabara looked worried as he glanced at the Lady of the North.

"Unbelievably strong." A rosy blush dusted the fox demon's cheeks.

"Okay then." Yusuke looked past Mitsukuni's shoulders at the giant mass of black scales and claws crushing innocent cars and tearing up buildings. "And do we do about that?"

"We must wait until the right moment. Please, trust her."

* * *

"Kurama, what are you doing?" Yui continued to struggle even as Kurama shielded her. His chest was to her back and the heat was unbearable.

"Please, stay down. Your mother and grandmother can handle it."

"Would you look at her? She's fighting by herself. I should be out there helping her!"

"You can't."

Yui was stunned at his lack of faith. Did he really believe she couldn't fight?

"Why not?" Something mean and nasty was boiling up in her guts. It threatened to spill out and invade her entire system. Her pulse was racing, her muscles tensed, her breathing labored.

"I don't want to see you get hurt. Can you please just let me protect you?"

A scream caught their attention. Yui turned in horror to find that Fuyuki had grabbed her mother's arm. Her giant claws had grabbed Mrs. Kagami like a low-lying fruit from a tree. High above them, Satsuki worked furiously to contain the snowstorm but could only helplessly watch the scenes below.

"Mom!" Yui broke free and started running. Kurama caught her again, wrapping his arms around her waist and started pulling her back by force.

"Isn't that sweet? Your darling daughter is trying to fight for you? However, I don't think for even a second that she would last for a minute against me." Fuyuki wrapped Mrs. Kagami in one of her powerful claws. For good measure, she squeezed down on Mrs. Kagami's fragile body even to make the woman cough up blood. "Without my brother around, you're no better than a mouse. Dragon's blood or no, you're nothing. Which is what you'll become soon enough."

Fuyuki opened her jaws and brought her claws towards her mouth. Facing down the dark, slimy pit of a dragon's belly, Mrs. Kagami fought and kicked and scratched for freedom. Her fighting grew desperate as Fuyuki's monstrous fangs edged closer and closer. She didn't scream but she panicked. The closer she was drawn to those fangs, the more frantic she became. Yuki Kagami grunted and yelped and pulled at the talons with all of her might. But Fuyuki wouldn't budge.

"No." Icicles were running down Yui's cheeks. "No. No. No!"

With new found strength, she shoved Kurama aside. That something mean and nasty finally was given free range. It was given control. A guttural, feral sound ripped through Yui's throat. Her tongue felt her teeth elongate and sharpen into fangs. In her palms, talons of her own pierced the soft flesh in her palms. Something freezing like a dagger ran up and down her spine and then sped and coursed its way through her veins. Not a drop of her blood was warm. Without even realizing what she was doing, she summoned up the energy to face Fuyuki. Snow, white snow, swirled around her feet. It swirled and spread and leaped and jumped into the air, but unlike Fuyuki's snow, it didn't melt at the touch. Energy pooled at Yui's feet and grew in size and strength with every step she took as she marched towards Fuyuki and her mother. Her power had grown so much in such a short amount of time, Fuyuki was forced to put away her snack, tossing Mrs. Kagami like a rag doll into the streets feet away from them.

Yui glanced at her reflection in Fuyuki's giant violet eye. Her eyes were glowing bright blue and a black slit for a pupil greeted her. Fuyuki flashed her a smirk and a snickering jest.

"So you know how to use territory already?"

Yui blinked.

"Is that what it's called?"

"Uh," Fuyuki looked at the girl in silence. "You don't know what it's called, but you know how to use it? How curious."

Another burst of energy and power reached higher into the sky. White and black snowflakes grazed each other but never came to a full on collision.

"Apparently so."

Yui felt unbelievably calm. She was facing down her aunt, the woman who caused chaos wherever she went and destroyed families, and also the same woman who had haunted her nightmares for years, and yet Yui barely batted an eyelash at her. This feeling was...incredible. She felt powerful. She felt strong. She felt unbeatable. And it felt rather nice.

Fuyuki sensed another surge of energy finally push her black storms into oblivion. But the curious part was how she reacted to the fact. The audience she gained watched in silent amazement as Fuyuki did nothing. She reverted to her humanoid form. Her parasol appeared out of nowhere. She dusted the white snow from her haori and looked around at her defeated territory with no more annoyance as one losing a button from their jacket.

"My brother would be proud. You are so much stronger than anticipated. I am glad."

Yui's hands moved on their own. She wasn't even entirely aware of what she was doing until she had a scythe made out of her own energy and ice encircling Fuyuki's throat.

"Didn't your parents teach you to respect your elders? Pointing a weapon at somebody who outranks you is not only rude, it's quite stupid." She pressed two fingers on the blade and brushed it aside.

"Leave and never come back."

Fuyuki chuckled. There were daggers in her smile, or were those her sharp teeth?

"I'm only going to leave because I have accomplished what I set out to do. I had no intention of actually fighting you. I merely came by to see how you are progressing. Using territory at such a young age," she stroked her pointed chin and arched her brow. She eyed Yui like some kind of extraordinary museum exhibit. "Most from our tribe can't use it well into their one-hundreds. You're still a whelp and you're able to use it so precisely. But to be fair, I was also holding back. If I really wanted to use territory, your city would be buried in my black snow and your friends turned into my puppets. I look forward to seeing you soon, pet. Enjoy your freedom while it lasts."

Shouldering her parasol, Fuyuki stalked away and marched towards the other end of the block. Car sirens and fire engines far off in the distance were rammed up to their highest volumes.

"You're not getting away that easily!" Yui started chasing after her.

Fuyuki stopped in her tracks, opening her parasol with the most arrogant smile on her painted lips. She glanced at the girl running towards her with a teasing, bear-baiting glance. Rather than summon any kind of weapon, a black snowball formed in the palm of her hand. Yui raised her scythe just as Fuyuki raised her arm to throw the snowball. Fuyuki took a deep breath and exhaled. Black snow was strewn across Yui's line of vision. Even for her, she couldn't bear the black snow in her eyes. She was forced she drop her weapon, breaking the ice into millions of tiny shards, and shield her eyes with her kimono sleeves. By the time she could lower them, Fuyuki was long gone.

A woman's groan reached her ears.

"Mom," and Yui ran to the sound of the noise.

Mrs. Kagami lay in a heap on the road, a light dusting of white snow covering her. Yui ran towards her and knelt down by her side.

"Mom, Mom," Yui gently shook her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"I will be once you stop yelling." She slowly sat up. She looked around. "Where's Fuyuki?"

"She ran away," answered Kurama. He held out his hand towards Mrs. Kagami. Reluctantly, she took it and he helped her to her feet. Wrapped her arm around his shoulders, he helped her walk towards the others. Mao was worried, but she was still not on speaking terms with her mother due to a certain incident that occurred during Yui's kidnapping.

"Guys, I hear those sirens coming closer. I don't think we should stay here." Kuwabara panicked as the fire engines' and police cars' blaring wails and lights sped towards their neck of the woods.

They all looked at the scene of chaos around them. More than a dozen cars were wrecked or totaled just on that one street alone. Jagged marks where Fuyuki's claws tore up the road. And of course, a massive pit stood where her body rested. Yui's snow was melting quickly, but that wasn't what they were concerned about.

Satsuki descended from the clouds on top of the carriage. She reached inside and brought out a bulging black sack. It seemed alive with the way it moved and jumped in her hand.

"What is that?"

"A container. It was designed using the dark arts to swallow a dragon's excess energy. It only works if you can somehow drag it inside."

"So that's what you were doing," Yusuke pointed out.

"Um, guys. Police. Firemen. Coming our way? What we going to tell them?"

"Let's just go already! We can't tell the police that a dragon was sitting in the middle of the street, now can we?" Mao chose now to speak up.

"Everybody climb into the carriage. We can squeeze in and find a place to lay low." Satsuki stood by the carriage door and pulled the bamboo screen out of the way.

"Are you sure we'll all be able to fit?" Yusuke asked as he was ushered inside.

"Trust me, it's bigger on the inside."

It was an uncomfortable, quiet ride, wherever they were going. Not uncomfortable because of the size, in actuality the carriage really was bigger on the inside. What started as a fun evening turned into a headache and a mess. Keiko was so exhausted from all the excitement, she was taken home while the others were carried off to the Kagami household. Mrs. Kagami ignored her injuries by busying herself with making hot tea for everyone. Mao and Yui changed clothes in their respective bedrooms. Mao went on to join them, but Yui locked herself away.

She sat on the floor while everybody else was talking, mostly about her. A classical music CD was put in her computer, and she pressed play to drown out the sounds of Fuyuki's ominous laughter tickling her ear. Nobunaga refused to sleep anywhere but her room. He rested his head in her lap and Yui occasionally scratched behind his ears. The voices in the living room died away. The front door opened and closed. A knock at her door was made by an unlikely person.

"Hey, Yui, can I come in?"

It was Yusuke.

Hesitant, Yui rose and opened her door for him. Without another word, Yusuke just walked right in and started looking around. He kept his hands in his pockets while he ogled her room.

"So this is what your room looks like? Did you let Ryuunosuke see it?"

Yui let out a growl.

"Sorry. Too soon." He apologized sheepishly.

"What do you want, Yusuke. I'm tired. I want to go to bed."

"Well, I just wanted to say that you did good out there."

A frosty brow rose.

"No need to look at me like I've grown a second head. I think you did good. You held your ground and you didn't let her get the best of you. The old hag will be happy to know that her training isn't going to waste."

_Words of encouragement. Say something polite back. _Yui thought.

"T-thank you, Yusuke. I appreciate it."

"No problem," he headed towards the door but lingered in the doorway. "By the way, your mom wants to see you. Like right now. Somethin' about a family meeting."

"Again, thank you, Yusuke."

"I'll just see myself out." He turned out into the hallway and disappeared.

Yui left her room only a second or two afterwards. Mao, Grandmother Satsuki, and her mother were sitting in the living, somber expressions were the only thing indicating the mood besides the nagging silence that etched at her nerves. There had been too much quiet lately. It was starting become a habit.

"What's going on?"

"Yui," Mrs. Kagami walked over, held Yui's shoulders, and gently pushed her towards the seat on the couch next to Mao. "You made need to sit down for this."

Mao suddenly grabbed Yui's hand. Yui's heart hammered inside her chest.

"What's going on?" She repeated, dreading the next few words coming out of her grandmother's mouth.

"Do you remember what we've said about you being the only viable heir to the headsman's position."

"Yes."

"The reason why I cam back is because, how should I put it? Your skills in fighting are lacking and you are completely ignorant of our tribe's customs and traditions. It was decided that you would come and live in the Land of Eternal Winter for a while, to learn what you need to know when you're old enough to take your inheritance."

"And who was it that decided for me?" Yui ground out. Just when she thought that she had finally gained freedom, it seemed that the freedom of choice was about to be denied her.

"Your uncle and his council. I don't like it much either. You're still a young child in dragon years. You weren't supposed to be able to use territory until you at least one-hundred. This new development will only increase your uncle's desire to have you trained. Even though my political power is just as great as his, my hands are tied. I couldn't sway him from holding it off until you were older." Satsuki was legitimately saddened by this fact.

Yui was no more than a young flower in the bloom of her youth. Yuki had been right on several points. Yui hadn't even reached the age of sixteen and yet Akio and the council insisted that her training begin without further delay. The girl hadn't even starting growing scales and they were pushing her towards the harsh regiment of training reserved for those who had? By the looks of things, Yui was going to be a late bloomer. Satsuki could only blame herself for the whole situation. If only she had enforced her way harder, perhaps these drastic measures could be avoided for another couple years. Alas, this was not going to be the case.

"When am I to leave on this _excursion_?"

"I was given three days to _encourage _you to come immediately. If I couldn't do that, then I must do so by force or Akio will."

"Three days? That doesn't give me any time at all to settle things. I have school. What is my mom supposed to tell them? That I went to live with my father's family for a while? I'll be missing school. I'll never be able to make it up in time for college exams or cram school. Isn't my education equally important as that other stuff?"

"Not according to your uncle, it isn't." Her mother sighed.

"I wanted to break it to you gently, but I suppose there's no way to do that. I'm sorry." Satsuki dabbed her tears with the hem of her baggy kimono sleeve.

They all waited for Yui to say something. They waited with patience, understanding, and concern. Whatever decision she was going to make, at least she could say it was of her own free will and not because she was pressured into doing it.

"How long will I have to stay?"

"Six months," Satsuki sniffed, blowing her nose on a handkerchief she withdrew from her sleeve.

Her family waited again for Yui to speak. She bit her lip to bite back the profanities she wanted to scream out into the world. But that wasn't who she was. Calmly, she swallowed the rather large lump in her throat that had been building up since she sat down. Breathing quietly, concentrating on inhaling then exhaling through her nose, Yui raised her head a little higher. Her gaze met with her grandmother's. Yui took a deep breath and tried to sit up as straight as she could but her shoulders were shaking so badly, she would never have been able to hide it.

"I'll do it."

"Yui, you don't have to make the decision right away, you know. You can get a couple of days to think it over, right, Satsuki?" Her mother glared at her grandmother.

Satsuki stood with her mouth agape, about to make a retort, but Yui clearly wasn't finished speaking yet.

"No, I'll do it. I've made up my mind. If I have only a choice to go freely or against my will, then I'll at least choose to go. But I won't do it because Uncle Akio wants me to. It's because I want to."

"Yui," Mao's grip on her hand tightened. Yui folded her hands over Mao's, grasping more gently like Mao was a butterfly about to break.

* * *

If sleep came at all, Yui wasn't aware of it. She couldn't tell if she fell asleep or stayed up all night staring at her ceiling. She spent the last day planning to leave and the last night trying in vain to rest for her journey. In a days time, she would be hugging her mother and sister farewell before stepping into a portal that would take her to that frozen tundra in the Demon World. The thought of living there didn't terrify her so much as the people did. It was apparent that her father was an anomaly among his kind. She remembered a sweet, kind man who smiled and held a warmth of his own despite having such cold skin.

What she dreaded most was not the journey or the yawning span of six months of training ahead of her. Oh no, that was the fun part. What Yui was dreading most was telling Kurama where she was going. She trusted him the most. She didn't want to see him hurt. He could be devastated by the news.

Or, he could say that he would miss her and move on with his life. How well did she know him anyhow? There was no telling how he would feel. She wasn't a psychic. She couldn't read his mind. She was no empath who could peer into his soul and immediately know what he felt towards her. As far as Yui was concerned, they had a strictly platonic relationship. Still, the thought of telling that she was going away for a long time was killing her with slow, agonizing death on the inside.

Yui went about the motions of school, admittedly more distracted than paying any attention. Not like she was going to be able to take that test next week anyway. Mao was especially affectionate towards her, even going so far as to make her favorite vegetarian lunch. Her sister acted and talked like nothing was wrong, that this wasn't killing her on the inside too. She was all smiles and giggles but Yui knew that it was all just a cover up. Just when they started to get along, they were being pulled apart again by forces outside their control. Life wasn't fair, but who said that it was to begin.

Yui slammed her locker door shut. She had forgone the wig yet again, and people were starting to notice it more and more. Their hushed whispers spurred her on. The one good thing that she could foresee her little trip to the North is that there wouldn't be anybody there to judge her as cruelly as high school teenagers did. It would be nice to stand in the middle of the crowd and not be appear as a giant, sore thumb. A giant, white sore thumb.

"Yui!" Mao hugged her from behind. She felt so warm. She wrapped her arms around her as it would be enough to keep Yui warm at night for the next six months.

"Hello to you too, Mao." Yui gathered her bag and they started for the exit.

Kurama was putting away his school shoes when they approached him. He didn't see them, and Yui had no desire to draw his attention even though she had to tell what was happening.

"Have you told him yet?" Evidently, Mao had been reading her mind.

"No, I haven't." Yui blushed and turned away.

Mao strode a little faster, dragging Yui along for the ride. Once they were close enough, Mao leaned closely to her sister and whispered in Yui's ear.

"Either you tell him or I will." She threatened and gave Yui a not-so-gentle shove towards Kurama.

Normally, she was much more graceful but her legs were shaking so bad that Yui lost her footing and was sent sprawling to the floor. It was a lucky thing that Kurama was near-by to catch her when she fell. He cradled her between his arms, laughing.

"We should stop greeting each other like this. People will start to say things." He chuckled.

"W-what things?" Yui stammered.

"That you're a couple." Mao glided by with a small smile on her glossy lips. "I'll end home by myself. Have fun."

Mao vanished in the crowd of students making their way towards the exits. Yui quickly straightened herself up, patting down her skirt to shake off the invisible dust.

"Mao has been acting very peculiar as of late. Do you know why?" He grabbed his bag and started walking.

Yui bit her lip. "Yeah, I think I do."

"I'm listening."

Yui glanced around them. The school had never felt so suffocating before.

"Let's not talk about it here." She tugged on the smallest part of his sleeve cuff. He walked so closely behind her, she didn't have to pull or drag him around.

They walked around the city until the sun was setting. The skies were a warm wash of oranges, reds, pinks, and pale lavenders. Dusk painted the skies with the color of bruises of a dying sun. She managed to find that very same bridge she came across last night, the same one Kurama found her standing on. The remnants of the festival had been quickly swept away to return to business as usual. Except, there was one lantern stranded on the side of the river. Its red color matched Kurama's hair perfectly. When Yui lingered for too long, staring at it as it gently bobbed up and down in the shallow water, Kurama touched her shoulder. She would miss that hand. Wait. Why was she talking like she was about to die? Uncle Akio wouldn't let that happen, not when she was so important to his cause.

"You've been acting peculiar too. Did something happen after we all left?"

"You...could say that." Yui leaned out of his reach and rested her chin on her elbows. She looked blankly at the river, but it was like she was really all there.

There was only so much of this Kurama could take. Yui seemed to be caring heavy baggage. The night before, before Fuyuki showed up that is, she was almost lively. Well, as lively as someone like Yui could get. She smiled at him. She actually smiled. At him. Why was she so glum now?

He gritted his teeth. Last night, he tried so hard to keep her away from the fight. To keep her safe. He didn't want to see any more scars added to the ones she already had. It was foolish of him to do so. He knew very well that Yui had the potential to become much stronger, stronger than she ever was or ever hope to be. When she focused, Yui was a formidable opponent, one that he hoped he would never have to face. Yui had grown up since the first day he saw her. She stood a little taller now. The change was small but incredible.

Staring rejection in the face, Kurama made one bold move that he knew would grab her attention. He reached over and pulled her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. Yui, startled by his sudden move, turned her head towards him. He leaned close and kissed her.

On the forehead.

It was enough to get Yui to blush. Her skin turned a shade of red brighter than his hair. Kurama couldn't stifle his chuckle even if he wanted to. She was too easy to tease. Yui, contrary to being of a species famous for its cold-heartedness and emotional constipation, proved to be quite emotional and the smallest action or word could bring it out of her. That what he found so amusing.

"W-why are you laughing at me?" She went to cover her glowing cheeks with her hands.

Kurama managed to pull her hands away just so he could get a better look at her. She looked so cute when she was embarrassed.

"Are you going to tell me why you and your sister have been acting odd all day? Or do I have to kiss you again?"

Yui looked ready to jump in the river after he said that. She jumped a few feet, almost dropping her bag, and held out her arms so he would have trouble coming any closer again.

"T-that would be entirely unnecessary!" Yui took a deep breath and started again. "If you must know, there is something I need to tell you."

Kurama knew when to take thing seriously. Yui was not playing around. He could tell by the look on her face that something heavy had been weighing on her mind. Her body language tensed.

"My presence is required in the North."

"What for?" He tried to calm himself. This wasn't like him. He didn't want to startle her any more than he already had.

"My uncle believes that I am not ready, for anything. I'm the only person who can take his place when he dies. As it is, I'm not much of a fighter and I don't know anything about the culture of my father's. It was agreed that I would spend a few months there, training and getting to know the people, my people, and their customs. It's not really fair, but none of us really can say that life is fair, is it?"

Kurama looked away for a moment to think. He needed to say the right thing before it was too late. Who knows what could happen up there? It was entirely within the realm of possibility that her uncle could arrange a marriage for her with someone from there. Then he, they that is, their group of mutual friends, would never see her again.

"How long will you be staying?"

"Six months, or so I've been promised."

"Then...I wish you the best of luck." Kurama started walking towards the end of the bridge.

"Is that all you have to say? 'Best of luck?'" Yui looked and sounded disappointed. Like a kicked puppy.

Kurama almost past her. He took her by the shoulder and whispered to her, although it wasn't directly into her ear. That was what lovers do.

"'Go, seek happy nights to happy days.'"

Yui smirked, not a bright one but she couldn't help herself. "Romeo and Juliet. Act 1, Scene 3, Line 493."


	20. Chapter 20

Updated: 12/14/2015

* * *

"Alright, Yui, this time _please_ hold your ground." Satsuki was looking on, biting her long nails. She had every right to be nervous. It was the second day and Yui fared no better than the first.

Yui dusted the snow from her heavy wrap-around tunic. No shoes, just a pair of tights. No coat, just a tight-fitting tunic worn underneath a short-sleeved wrapped tunic that hit her hips and a suede over skirt. She was visibly shivering in the cold. Her body wasn't used to this level of freezing cold. Not yet at least. Not if her uncle and his council had anything to say about it. This was supposed to be a private training session, but they were, judging her. Yui didn't know to feel sorry for herself, embarrassed, or just miffed that they just stood there, against their word, watching her trying—and failing—to beat her opponent, a much taller, much stronger, more experienced warrior who wasn't even trying to take it easy on her. A salty diet of red meat and torturous training sessions made him a lean, mean fighting machine. War and survival gave him the better advantage. But to admit defeat without trying would be handing herself over to her uncle's whims on a silver platter. Everything everybody said about her would be true. They would be right to say that Yui was a weak link, a spoiled princess who couldn't hold her own.

Which was why she refused to stay down longer than a few seconds, even if this was the third time Hayato, her sparring partner, had knocked her down with only his fist. The snow had lessened the swelling her cheek.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea, my lady? I mean no offense, but isn't she a little _small_ to be sparring me?" Hayato didn't even have the common courtesy to acknowledge Yui's presence in front of him.

"Trust me on this, young man. I know what I'm doing. She won't get bigger if she only fights people who are her same size," Satsuki then lowered her voice, "Besides, we don't have anybody who's her size to spar with and fighting one of the children would just be humiliating."

"Hello," Yui shouted. "I'm still here!"

"At least your hearing is improving," Satsuki chuckled and turned to Hayato again. "Well, maybe you should take it down a notch. Just one."

Yui couldn't stand it anymore. Being talked about. Being the subject of quickly hushed conversations. The pitiful or judgmental looks they gave her as she passed by to one lesson after the other. Did they expect her to improve after two days? She was stuck there for the next six months. She gave up a proper education for this! Yui could feel the burning rage boil her alive. She just so angry at everything, at the world, at her life. There was only one outlet and it was staring at her in the face.

It may not have necessarily honorable to attack when Hayato had his attention drawn away from the fight, but Yui couldn't have picked a better opportunity. When his attention was on Satsuki instead of where she should have been, on her, Yui dashed through the snow, fist raised to eye-level. Hayato quickly picked up the sound of her bare feet crunching on snow, but wasn't quick enough to block. Yui had her fist rammed into his gut, bruising both his ribs and her knuckles. It felt good. It felt really good. It felt really, really good. She swung with her other fist hitting in the gut once more. Hayato managed to stabilize himself soon enough to reduce the blow of her second punch. His bones hardened at his command, a tactic, Yui learned, was one perfected and frequently used by those dragons living in the farthest, cold regions in the Makai. This time it was her bones that cracked under the pressure. Yui bit her tongue until she tasted copper trying to bite back the urge to cry out profanities Yusuke would be proud of. She withdrew her left arm, and this time swung her opposite leg. Hayato was already aware of sudden move, like he foreseen it coming. His powerful hand grabbed her ankle. With one mighty pitch, Yui was not only knocked off balanced but thrown half way down the training grounds. However, to her opponent's shock, Yui too had foreseen this and positioned herself so that she landed right back on her feet and not plow back-first into the snow. Again.

She couldn't help but feel a little more confident with just a hint of cocky managing to stay on her feet this time. Her fists were raised like a boxer's fighting stance. Her eyes seemed to say, 'Bring it.' Satsuki nodded in approval.

"Well," she turned to Hayato. "Don't keep her waiting."

Hayato smirked as he ran towards his target. Yui braced herself, bending her knees to lower her position to the ground and widened her stance. Hayato, like all other dragons from the North, were slow due to their size and the long time it took to reset the density of bones once they were hardened. Hayato must have weighed twice or three times as much after he had changed the density when Yui's fist rammed into his stomach the first time. He sparred her the first few rounds, but if she was going to fight seriously, so was he.

He was just about to land a solid punch to her jaw, that familiar rumble of an approaching storm echoed through the valley. Yui found herself picked up and hefted over Hayato's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Anybody outside was rushed back into the village, and from there filed quickly into the castle's cellar to wait out the storm. Yui stopped marveling at the efficiency of the emergency system. For hundreds of years they must have been doing this. Practiced coordination put any fire drill on earth to shame. Hayato put her down once they were safe inside the cellar. Satsuki wrapped a spare kimono around Yui's shoulder and set her near a fire.

"Your boots, Yuki-Hime." One of the maids was kind enough to grab the fur lined shoes before fleeing from the storm.

"Thank you, Miu." Yui nodded to the older girl and took the boots for herself. She didn't realize how numb her toes were until she stuffed them inside the warm, fuzziness of her boots.

"Wakana, why are you out of breath?" Miu had asked another servant, but Wakana was closer in age to Yui.

Wakana was one of the few brighter souls in the North, not by much but what could you do? She was heaving, hands on her knees, and bent forward.

"I'm so sorry, Yuki-Hime. I couldn't find your dire wolf before the storm hit."

"Don't worry about it. I sent Nobunaga out hours ago."

"To where?" The two girls asked in unison.

* * *

"And you're still not talking to your mother, are you, Mao?" Kurama walked the girl off school property. She had been avoiding home by lingering around the school for the past two days. She needed a new hobby.

"Yep." Mao answered popping her 'P's.

"You're going to have to talk to her eventually."

"Can't I be mad at her for a little while longer? You can't just spring that kind of stuff out of nowhere and expect a person like me to handle it like it was nothing. Eventually, yeah, I'm going to have to forgive her, but does it have to be so soon."

"Mao," Kurama sighed. "With Yui gone for a while, she's going to be missing her. A lot. I think it would be very kind and helpful of you to show her that you forgive her for withholding that information. I'm sure she had her reasons."

Mao pouted.

"I won't give you any more advise on the matter if you're going to be like that. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, whatever. Bye."

They traveled in opposite directions. It wasn't long before he lost sight of Mao, but he had pulled a few strings. He was somewhat comfortable with Mao walking herself home. Kurama went on his merry way, but it wasn't before long he felt something. A spike in spiritual energy was closing in on him. He was half way down his street when he finally turned. A mass of black fur came abounding down the sidewalk, a leather satchel swinging dangerously from side to side from its neck as it sped towards him. The great beast nearly toppled him over. Its giant paws rested on his shoulders and its tongue ran along the side of his face, now wet with slobber.

"It's nice to see you too, Nobunaga," he managed to push the dire wolf back on all fours. Nobunaga was so big he didn't even have to bend over to scratch behind the wolf's ear. "What are earth are you doing here? Isn't Yui missing you right now?"

Nobunaga's only reply was an echoing bark that made Kurama's ears to ring.

"What is it, boy? What is that you want?"

Nobunaga shook his head, waving the bag around his neck and hit Kurama in the calf. Kurama reached for the leather satchel.

"Is it this? Is there something I need to see?"

Nobunaga barked and wagged his fluffy tail.

"I'll take that as a 'yes.'" He unlatched the hook from one of end of the strap. Nobunaga shook his neck in relief to have the thing finally removed.

"You're a long way from home aren't you?"

Nobunaga only blinked.

"We might have something in the kitchen for you. If you want a snack."

Nobunaga was all too happy to follow him inside his house. Kurama was grateful that his mother would be working late and wouldn't arrive until much later, possibly when he went to bed. He wasn't fond of the idea of her working so late, but his school didn't permit students to take on jobs and she was the only source of income for the time being. Nobunaga made himself at him, scratching his back on he carpet while Kurama laid the satchel on the kitchen table—it's contents to be opened later—and went directly into the fridge for leftovers. There was some leftover meatloaf he didn't particularly care and this was dumped into a bowl he would wash later. Nobunaga sniffed the meatloaf before take a bite. He didn't seem to like it all that much, but was grateful for the meal. After Nobunaga licked the bowl clean, Kurama took it, washed it, and put it back with the others without his mother ever being the wiser. Finally, he sat down at the kitchen table, unlatched the satchel, and pulled out the contents. Nobunaga made himself comfortable laying on top of Kurama's feet under the table as he looked to find a thick envelope and what looked to like a crystal the size of his palm. He pulled the envelope first, which was nothing more than a stack of letters folded on top of another and secured with a measure of twine.

_Dear Kurama,_

_ I'm sorry if this feels a little forward, I just don't have a lot people I want to talk to about this stuff. I mean, there's my mom and my sister, but I don't think that they quite _get _me like you do. That sounds weird, right? And kind of selfish too? _

Kurama had to stop himself from chuckling. It would be just like Yui to write off as many imaginary concerns as possible.

_ You were the first person who discovered my secret, so I thought you should know others. You divulged to me. It would only be fair if I was open and honest with you as you have been with me. If you would be interested in that. I don't want to assume anything about you._

"Your master is a very strange woman." Kurama couldn't help himself this time.

_Have I mentioned that it's absolutely freezing up here? My hands are shaking so much. I've already had to put down my pen twice now and I'm not even half way down with this letter. Apparently, it's possible to have a burning fires despite the dry tundra air and arctic climate. They don't last long as you can assume. They mostly use lamps, but they don't usually stay up very late. I've always been curious why I fell asleep early at night than others. Despite being cold to the bone, quite literally, dragons from this region absorb a lot of energy from the sun and its refraction off the snow. When the sun goes down, we go down. But don't tell anybody. I could get in serious trouble for revealing sensitive information like that. _

_ The really strange thing is that they won't let me have socks. They're freeze me to death before they give me something warmer to wear. They'll kill me, break me, or have me used to these extreme climates before long. Wish me luck!_

_ Mostly it's been routine training, sparring mostly. Their mentality is that if I fight the biggest warriors they have, I'll learn faster. Tell that to my bruises. _

_ But all of this is definitely worth it. I don't want to be a damsel in distress, and in order to do that, I have to become stronger. The next time you see me, I'm going to be stronger, inside and out. Tomorrow, I start my archery lessons. At least it's better than sparring. Then I get to learn how to use various other weapons: the naginata, the spear (of which I see very little difference between it and the naginata, but don't tell my grandmother I said that), and the katana. They are trying to be very _thorough_. I can't wait for these long months to be over with. _

_ I hope you and all the rest back home are fairing well, especially my sister. I hope she's not causing too much trouble. I know that she can be a bit impetuous and challenging, but underneath it all, she's a really sweet person. Please make sure she and my mom make up before I come home. As for the rest of the "gang," give them my best. Keep the hooligans out trouble as best as you can. I'd hate to come back and find Yusuke in jail, or worse. I hope to see you all very soon. _

_ The piece of crystal in the bag is for you. I guess you could consider this a souvenir from the North. It's a jewel, like a diamond, that's forms in the caves around here. Don't tell anybody I sent it to you. I don't want the others to feel jealous. _

_ Best regards, Yui._

Kurama folded up the letter and took it and the crystal to his room. Nobunaga trailed behind him. Kurama was wise enough to shut the door behind him for privacy. He grabbed a few sheets of paper and started his reply. It was almost seven by the time he stuffed his letter into the satchel and attached it around Nobunaga's neck. The wolf seemed to understand his task without Kurama's instructions. Kurama opened the back door and away the wolf sped into the night.

* * *

Fuyuki's footsteps echoed all the way down into the bleak abyss. Dimly lit torches were sparse and so far apart that she was only grateful that she carried one with her. Ice dragons were useless in the dark. Their eyes were not as bright when thrown into pitch blackness. She descended slowly down the corridor as it twisted and spiraled down, deep, deep beneath the crust of the earth. Her powerful ears heard the tiny droplets of water that had sunk so far down the man-made tunnels and plopped into dirty puddles and the _scritch-scratch _and squeak of tiny vermin as they crawled along the large stones that made up the floors. Paper talismans glowed bright violet as she passed them by. Another woman walked along the other side of the corridor. She was a feeble-looking thing, so thin and wasted with dark circles under her eyes and flesh that had been drained not only of color but of life itself. Fuyuki chuckled to herself and hoped that the man she had been going to see had a nice meal.

Just before the woman completely passed her, Fuyuki stopped, turned her head, and called to her.

"Y-yes, Fuyuki-sama." Her voice was cheerful but weak.

"How does he fare?"

The servant nodded, happily. A bright blush painted her pale cheeks.

"The Master is very well, my lady. He was very nice today."

"Oh? He was, was he?"

"Yes, he only killed three people today."

"And you're grateful that you're not one of them." Fuyuki snickered.

Her blush darkened.

"I am, but only because I get to serve Master a little while longer."

Fuyuki waved the girl.

"On with you, then. You shouldn't be done here for much longer. You'll collapse at this rate. I won't be the one to carry you back up the stairs if you pass out now."

The servant woman nodded again. "Yes, ma'am." And the little thing scurried off.

Fuyuki continued to make her way down the steep climb. Her feet slid down and she was forced to use the handrails on the wall to keep her footing. After a tedious journey, she reached her destination. The deepest, darkest pit wasn't reserved for hell. No, here was true darkness in its purest form. Her torch quickly became useless though she kept it in hand for the journey back up the countless flights of stairs.

"Master," she said, "I'm here. It's your servant Fuyuki, Master."

The shadows lifted enough for Fuyuki to make her way to a bamboo cage littered with more paper talismans and heavy curtains of nearly transparent black silk.

"I know it was you. You're forgetting my abilities. The shadows are as much as my servants as you and the others are. I would know your every move, Fuyuki."

Fuyuki fumbled with her torch, sticking it inside an empty sconce. She placed her knees on a well-worn pillow not far from the cell. In a stunning display of humility, Fuyuki lowered herself to the ground. She kissed the ground with her lips and forehead.

"Forgive me, my lord. I quickly forget these things."

"Rise, already," her lord commanded. He sounded impatient. "You bring news, I trust."

"My lord," Fuyuki sat up, hands on her knees. "I'm not allowed to see you unless I bring you news that you would like to hear."

"You listen and obey well." He chuckled, the walls reverberated with his laugh.

Fuyuki couldn't help but shutter. Whenever he laughed, it was like the Hand of Death was running his stony, cold finger down her spine. Oh, how she loved the feeling of it.

"What news do you bring me from the surface world?"

"She knows how to use territory."

There was silence.

"She can't be more than..."

"She's fifteen, my lord. She knows how to use one of the most powerful weapons in a dragon's arsenal. Who knows what else she may be capable of?"

"She is that strong?"

"Yes," Fuyuki answered with utter, nearly maniacal, chuckle. "And she'll only get stronger. She is busy training in my homeland, my lord. My mother is making sure she's a fit heir to the throne."

"Then, all went according to plan? No one suspects a thing?"

Fuyuki bowed low once more.

"But my lord," she cooed. "It was all through you that your plans succeeded. The council members have no idea how the idea of getting the girl to the North got into their little heads, and my brother suspects not a thing. They didn't even realize for years that Izo had children. Mother kept that secret locked up tight."

"And the puppets? What happened to the woman and her son?"

"The woman resides in the dungeon but I don't know the whereabouts of the boy. With any luck, he was eaten by the dire wolves. But if he's still alive, I will gladly take care of him for you, my lord."

"No," Fuyuki imagined her lord waving his hand dismissively. It was pitch-black all around her. She wouldn't have been able to see her hand if she put it up to her face. "No, that won't be necessary. Who knows? If he's still alive, some day he might be of some use to me."

"Yes, my lord." She rose. "Is there anything else I may do for you? Anything else you might want to know?"

"How is she? Have there been any incidents I should be aware of?"

Fuyuki was not as prepared for this question as she thought. "Apparently, there was some trouble a little more than a month ago. Dragon hunters appeared out of nowhere. She did not come back unscathed. She now bears a scars on her back and around her throat. Some fool tried to strangle her with iro-"

A dragon's dark, scaly claw reached through the bars. Talons sunk home into her throat. Warm streams of blood trickled down her neck as Fuyuki desperately tried to beg her master to let her go.

"You _allowed_ someone to touch what is mine? You _let _someone damage her flesh, cause her harm? I gave you life, if you recall, Fuyuki, and I am just as capable of taking it back. If it were not for me, you would lying in a ditch, picked clean by vultures. Your job is to keep her safe and make sure she becomes stronger. You failed me once before, remember? Not so long ago. Now, you have the brazen foolishness to do so a second time? Need I remind you of your past failures or that these bars aren't to keep me in, but others out?"

Fuyuki looked. Her master's arm hadn't shot out between the bars of the cell nor did he break them. His flesh was made up of shadows. He could pass through walls like an intangible spirit. His powers were unlimited.

"F-for...forgive me, m-master." Fuyuki gasped.

Suddenly, he released her. She was left to struggle to breathe and staunch the blood dripping from the scratches he left behind in the wake of his fury. The Master was truly terrifying, but it was too late for her to turn back now.

"Leave me. I'll send for you when I feel that you are worthy to be trusted again."

"Y-yes...master." Fuyuki croaked. She rose quickly, fumbled with her torch, and backed out of the way without ever showing her back to him. One more sign of impudence, and he would have her head for sure.

"Before you go, Fuyuki."

She paused mid-step.

"Is there anything or _anyone_ I should also be worried about?"

"No, my lord."

"I hope you're not lying to me." He waited until her footsteps vanished up the length corridors. In his chambers, in which the pitch-blackness was to him brilliant light, he sat before a silver mirror. However, this wasn't a mirror meant to cast his reflection, rather it had other purposes. A little gift one of his servants found while on an errand for him. He planned to see just how well it worked. One might say that the Forlorn Hope was a distant cousin of the mirror standing before him, only much less dangerous to its user.

"Show me my true desire." He had closed his eyes as if in prayer. When he opened them again, the mirror shifted like mad. Living mercury swirled around the inside of the mirror's frame until a decent image appeared. He came closer for a better look. The image bubbled just under the shifting surface. He watched it for what felt like hours before the contents slowly shifted still. The prize was he after was sleeping under blankets of furs, and a loyal hound at the foot of her bed. The walls were of solid ice. Bluish lamps glowed dimly from the ceiling, casting an ethereal against her snow-white hair. Fine white brows were drawn together. A bad dream.

"What are you dreaming about that would put such an anguished look on your face?" He reached out and thrust his head through the mirror.

The vision within the mirror was nothing like the reflection on the surface.

A dark sky only dotted occasionally by a silver star and the crescent moon. Hills and valleys of pure snow were guarded by dark trees whose branches were long enough to grab someone off the path. The rest of his body was thrust inside the mirror into what he assumed was the girl's dreams. It didn't surprise him that an ice dragon would dream of snowy hills. What did surprise him was the sight of someone else here. He followed the trail of footprints in the snow to the woods, and through there a clearing. She was wrapped in a silvery-white kimono, caught in the arms of another man. It took all of his strength, but he somehow bent the rules of her dream, casting the landscape into darkness until nothing was left him and her.

Yui snapped from her daze. He watched her stand frozen. She panted for breath. Even without the frigid winds, her breaths still came out as puffs of mist. When she caught her breath, Yui slowly turned. Their eyes met.

"Hello." He smirked at how red her cheeks were.

"Who are you?"

He only answered with a shake of his head.

"I'm afraid that I can't answer that right now. All that you need to know...is that I will not harm you." He let his feet fall carefully. His approach must be soft and slow. He must not scare her away.

"It's too bad my mother told me never to talk to strangers."

"Wise mother." He chuckled.

Yui took on a defensive stance when he was within arm's reach of her.

"Stay back!"

Disobeying, he grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her close. Naturally, she struggled. His patience was wearing thin. He had no other choice but to sap her of a little energy she had. Yui instantly became still and quite pliant in his arms.

"Please," he wasn't known to ask for things, only demand. "Don't resist me. Let me hold on for a while longer."

His hand ran through her hair with the utmost care. Like cradling a delicate porcelain doll, he lifted her off her feet and carried her some distance. The dream altered to his whim. The darkness lifted and revealed an entirely new landscape. Well, perhaps not new. Yui looked around. Her eyes seemed to shine with the light of recognition. Her brows furrowed in confusion, to which he laughed at.

"Where are we? Where have you taken me?" She tried to push his arms away, but he had drained her of just enough energy to make her efforts fruitless.

"Do you remember this place?" He continued on towards his destination.

"I..." Yui trailed off. He didn't need to know the answer. They both knew where they were. That village outside Sapporo, Yui's hometown.

He carried her further, past all of the old houses, some rundown, others renovated but all with their old-fashioned, traditional Japanese architecture still in place as the day they were built. They went further on towards the woods beyond the village. He didn't stop until they arrived at this abandoned shrine. In the middle of its courtyard, just as decrepit and untended as the shrine, sat a well. The light of recognition dimmed little by little, but never completely. He could practically hear the gears turning inside her head.

"What is this?"

"Do you remember?"

"Should I?"

She set on her feet again. Yui was still thrown off balance from losing her powers that she had to grip the edge of the well for support. He caught her arm and held her up. Extending his free hand down towards the bottom of the well, "Look down there."

Hesitantly, Yui looked. There was nothing but blackness.

"Why did you bring me to this place? Why am I here? And who are you?"

"Don't you remember, _koi_? Don't you remember me?"

"No! I don't!" Yui managed to wrangle her arm away from him but still needed the well for support.

"Don't you remember!" He shouted back. "This is the place where we met! Look again!"

He grabbed the back of her head by her hair, shoving her face forward. Yui looked again. This time instead of total darkness she found a little girl dressed in a pink kimono cradling her ankle. Her white hair stood starkly against the black surroundings.

"MOMMY! DADDY!"

* * *

Yui awoke with a start. The back of her head was aching and her fingers couldn't stop trembling. The door to her bedroom slide open with a bang.

"Yuki-hime, are you alright?" A guard dressed in silk and fur came barging in the room, disturbing the dire wolf at the foot of her bed.

Yui wiped the cold sweat from her brow.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a bad dream."

"Should I send for your grandmother?"

The guard had actually accused her of being so young that she needed her grandmother to comfort her after a bad dream. Yui shook her head.

"No, thank you. I'm old enough to handle bad dreams on my own. Thank you, though, for your concern."

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Do we have something to calm my nerves? It was a really bad dream and I may not be able to fall asleep the way I am now."

The guard bowed from the waist.

"I'll see what I can do, Yuki-hime. I'll return shortly."

He left and shut the door behind him. Yui was too sore and too tired to leave the comfort of her bed, though the slightly lumpy mattress made a very good argument against it. She sat up, rubbing her face in her hands. The second man appeared out of nowhere. How was he able to do those things? More importantly, how did he know about the well? She couldn't even remember it. She and Mao had played there as small children, but those memories were just bits and pieces. They wouldn't even be able to make a complete puzzle.

"Nobunaga."

The black wolf crawled on its stomach towards her and rest its big furry head in her lap. She was tired, but not tired enough to pass up an opportunity to play with Nobunaga's fluffy ears and give him a well-deserved scratch behind the both of them for waking him so early.

"What's wrong with me?"


	21. Chapter 21

Just what on earth was he dreaming about? Not that Kurama was complaining much. No, there was a sense of nostalgia here, running through the bamboo forests, being chased by guards, white clad comrades running beside him, a long-sought treasure rested in his clutches.

The smell of the earth as it was crushed underfoot. The wind brushing his face. The sensations felt almost real.

But why?

Why was he dreaming about this? Now of all times?

There wasn't time to question it as one scene changed from another. In a flash, he was somewhere else.

_The smell of green bamboo gave way to damp earth and something metallic. Torches lined cave walls. Shadows flickered from one end to another as they returning party of bandits climbed down the steep hill, heading deep into the mouth of a monstrous cavern. Water dripped from the ceiling and splashed into tiny puddles on the cave floor. Stolen treasures jingled and clinked in overstuffed bags nearly filled to the brim. _

"_Kurama!" Kuronue appeared out of the darkness, giant black wings unfurled. _

"_May I help you?" _

_Kuronue chuckled, finding something funny in what he said. _

"_Your woman is asking for you. She's waiting for you...in your chambers." _

_Some of them men behind Kurama chuckled and at least one of the women rolled their eyes, if their poorly disguised jealous and disgust was any indication. Kurama tucked his own prize into his pocket. _

"_Help the others stash the goods in the vault. You and I can count it up later." _

_Kurama traveled deeper into the cave, down the earthen tunnel that led to the most secluded cavern within the subterranean hideout. It was for his own personal use, though to be honest it rarely saw much of it. He spent so much of his time in inns or sleeping in the trees, hiding from bounty hunters. He was calm, stoic; he couldn't let his excitement show. _

_A gauzy silver curtain blocked his way; one of _her_ designs. Kurama pushed it back and entered his domain. The cavern was unusually bright and warm thanks to the tall candles burning from every notch someone could find. Grayish wax dripped everywhere and here the shadows didn't just flicker, they danced as the glowing tips of the candles spurted to and fro in the air moving throughout the system of tunnels. Kurama's chambers, contrary to popular belief, were not dripping in decadence and wealth. His furniture was nice but sparse. A table over here, a vanity on the side, a mountain of silk pillows for lounging over there. But what most interested him was what lay behind the painted silk screen. Golden candles illuminated the perfect silhouette of a womanly figure laying on top of his futon. Kurama crept around the silk screen._

_Silky white hair hid her face. She lay partially on her stomach, partially on her side. One of her arms was curled up around her stomach, like she was protecting something. Her eyes were closed, but he knew that there was no way she was asleep. _

"_How is my treasure doing?"_

_Bright blue eyes greeted him. Her cheeks flushed as soon as she awakened. She slowly moved her arm away from her middle. In her hand, a awe-inspiring set of sparkling diamonds lay in the palm of her hands though she didn't seem all that interested in them. Her eyes hadn't even glanced at the glistening jewels in her hands._

"_They're doing just fine. Thank you for asking." _

_Kurama kicked off his shoes and padded towards the futon mattress. He landed with a soft thud next to the woman, knees landing first. The closeness brought a deeper shade of red to the woman's face. Kurama grabbed the set of jewels from her hands and tossed them aside as if they suddenly lost their value. His arms snaked around her firm waist. Pulling her close, he nuzzled her neck, making her gasp in surprise which was closely followed by a sigh. _

"_I wasn't talking to the diamonds," he murmured. The feel of her chilled flesh gave him goosebumps, in a good way. "If I wanted to speak to the chunks of rock, I would."_

"_K-Kurama..."The woman gasped. Her cheeks were fully red by now. _

"_Yes," he was practically purring. He could feel her blood racing in the veins in her throat as he pecked along the sides of her neck with only delicate kisses. _

"_M-maybe you should rest a little before you do anything to wear you out? You just got back from a raid. You should lay down...I'm just saying." _

"_I will. But first." _

_Even if she was a dragon, it really was too easy to catch her off guard and overpower her. He barely pushed her into the mattress. The cutest, most vulnerable-sounding squeak escaped from her pretty pink lips and her eyes were shining with liquid fear and anticipation. Her cheeks couldn't get any redder, but her deep blush spread down to her neck and the top of her chest. Her white hair was splayed around her head like a halo. Kurama continued to sit on his knees to enjoy the view. Her pale blue tunic was partially opened at the very top, revealing a bare minimum glimpse of her soft, white and irresistible flesh. She looked good enough to eat, however the weight in his pocket caught his attention. He reached inside, producing a string of pearls. _

"_I believe last time...you said you preferred pearls over anything else. These weren't the target, but I couldn't help imagining them around your neck." _

_The black pupils of her eyes slit like a serpent's. Her pale hand reached forward to take them from him, but Kurama was fast enough to pull them away from her grasp. She couldn't sit up to make a grab for the pearl necklace. _

"_I went through a lot of trouble to get these. I should demand a reward for getting these for you." _

_She groaned. _

"_What do you want?" _

_Kurama looked down. His toothy grin was all that she needed to see to know what he wanted. His eyes were glued to her pouting lips. _

"_I think...a kiss will do nicely." _

_Before she could resist, Kurama planted his lips firmly over hers, running his tongue along her lower lip until she hesitantly offered passage._

The real Kurama snapped out of his slumber, sitting upright in bed. The seven A.M alarm going off int the distance. He rubbed his face.

"Where on earth did that come from?" Kurama wondered out loud.

He went through the same morning routine as he always did, all the while trying to distract himself from his amorous dream. Perhaps his old self hadn't died away completely? Making a cup of decaf coffee for himself, Kurama glanced at the calendar. A red circle marked the date. The time went fast. Six months were gone in the blink of an eye. Yui would be making her return trip home right about now, wouldn't she? While he would be at school, anxiously awaiting her arrival, she would be tying up loose ends before journeying home. He had been hiding a stack of her letters, unsure if anyone else received any. It would be better to keep it his own little secret.

He had hoped that today would be just a normal day until Yui's arrival. Nothing to worry about, nothing to make Yui worried about when she finally came home after such an arduous six-month long experience.

What he failed to take in account was the Kagami family curse. He really should have known better.

"We're being followed." Mao said suddenly on their way to the bus stop.

Kurama indeed felt it too. Mao's spiritual awareness took everybody for a surprise. They all had thought that the human blood inside of her was the more dominant trait. Apparently, that was not the case as her awareness became stronger and stronger than before. Had she been training? If she was, there was no way she would tell somebody, anybody. In that, she and her sister shared something else in common. Kurama gave a quick glance over his shoulder. The demons following them were wearing pretty decent disguises, but not good enough. They should have also tried hiding their energy a bit better.

"What do you want to do?" She asked. Kurama could hear her heartbeat quickening. He had to come up with an escape plan fast lest their stalkers get too close and all too comfortable.

"I have an idea." He grabbed her wrist and started running.

They might have lost them in the crowd for a moment, but it was entirely too brief. Kurama dragged himself and Mao into the park, where nobody could find them. No human that is. Three brutes emerged from the shadows, disregarding their human forms now that they were hidden by the dense little woods surrounding them.

"Stay behind me, Mao." Kurama whispered.

"Can I assume that you know why we're here?" The female with the trio stepped forward, shedding her disguise like snake skin. Her real skin was paler than Yui's, but she had a pair of violent amethyst stones for her eyes. She had claws and fangs and a scrunched up pixie-like nose that whistled when exhaled through them.

Her compatriots weren't that much better. The large one was made of solid muscles and had a thick black mane of horse hair in a ponytail. His talons were sharpened and yellow as old parchment. The shorter fellow, a stringy little man with a thick layer of oil running along the surface of his pale bluish complexion. His elven ears twitched every time the leaves would rustle in the trees. A low-hanging cow tail lazily swung down his back.

"Almost. Does this have anything to do with Mao?"

The female nodded.

"I'm Michiko. My friends, Hachiru and Masaru," she gestured to the tall one then the short one. "We would be ever so grateful if you would mind stepping out of the way, fox boy, and let us have the girl."

Kurama reached his arm back to push Mao further out of harm's way.

"For what purpose?"

"For ransom, of course! What else would we want the sister of Northern Dragons' heir? That other girl would pay _anything _to see that her sister is safe, wouldn't she?" Michiko snickered.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

"Oh come on, Kurama, don't be such a push over for these weaklings. Just let us borrow the girl for a little while and she'll be back home safe before you know it."

Kurama's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. His other hand reached into his hair, retrieving his weapon of choice: a rose.

Hachiru and Masaru took a cautious step back. They heard what Kurama's rose did to one of the four Saint Beasts way back when. It was deadly as it was beautiful. Michiko, on the other hand, sneered at Kurama's defiance and at her subordinate's cowardice, especially Hachiru's. Someone his size couldn't possibly be intimidated by a man with a flower.

"Get a hold of yourselves. He can't be that strong. There's only one of him and two of you. Stop being a couple of pansies and grab the girl. Or do I have to do that for you too?"

"You won't be taking anyone." With a flick of his wrist, scarlet petals scattered around them, engulfing the area with sweet perfume, and the stem extended to unnatural length and the thorns to deadly tips.

"He killed one of the Four Saint Beasts with that thing. It's almost suicide." Masaru quivered.

Michiko grabbed the back of coat and shoved him forward.

"Almost isn't the same thing as actual suicide. Do your kind proud then and kill him! It honestly shouldn't be that difficult."

"And what about the other sister?" Hachiru stepped forward, hesitant but at least he showed more initiative than his partner.

"Like it would be so difficult to get the money from her." Michiko snickered.

"My sister won't stand for this you know. When she finds out, oh, man you three are going to be in a world of hurt!" Mao gripped Kurama's shoulder.

"Mao, enough. This isn't the time for banter."

"I would listen to him little girl," Michiko snickered again. "And it's not like your sister can do anything. She's got a temper which makes her stronger, but so what? That doesn't make her anything special. From what I hear, she's just a scrawny little brat way over her head. Not much to be scared of."

They were all nearly blown off their feet by a gust of mighty wind like a miniature storm. The blast held icy daggers that could cut through the thickest flesh. Flurries of snow blinded them. Mao clung to Kurama for warmth and he held her steady by her waist.

"What the he—" Michiko was silenced by the presence of three more demons.

"Yui!" Mao ran towards the figure emerging out of the small snow storm.

Yui appeared like the Snow Queen bedecked in layers upon layers of silk and a fur-trimmed yukata hanging off her shoulders. The top layer of her hair was twisted into two braids on either side of her head with the rest pulled into a ponytail with the braided sections. Her hair had grown longer and her skin was ruddier than before. Mao wrapped her arms around Yui's waist only to find that she must have shrunk or Yui grew taller. Yui smiled, and wrapped her arms around Mao, pulling her sister extra close.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner."

"Again! What the hell! Who are you?" Michiko panicked.

Yui slowly released Mao and pushed her aside.

"Wakana, could you hold my yukata for me?" Yui shifted the article off of her shoulders.

"It would be my pleasure, Yuki-Hime." The demon on Yui's right graciously took the yukata from Yui's shoulders and folded it over her forearm for safe keeping.

"Would you like some assistance?" The one of Yui's right offered.

"That won't be necessary. I think I can handle this on my own."

"Very well."

Masaru was the first to make a run for it, Hachiru was next to follow suit. Michiko shouted and screamed after them, not knowing why they decided to run of all times.

"Get back here you cowards!" She slowly turned to find Yui approaching her. "And just who do you think you are? Walking around like you own the place? Did that dumb brat send you?"

"I am that dumb brat."

Michiko gulped. The women behind Yui snickered.

"Tch, tch," Yui clicked her tongue. "It's so hard to find good help these days, isn't it? Not all of them can be as loyal as others."

"Y-you're just trying to intimidate me. It won't work."

"Oh," Yui's brow shot upward, unbelieving. "I believe I already have. That dumb little brat you were mentioning earlier just finished six months of training in the Land of Eternal Winter. Do you have any idea what that means?"

"N-no?" Though she was shaking, Michiko stood her ground. She wouldn't run like those cowardly fools she hired. She wouldn't be scared off by some kid who thought that they owned the world because they were a dragon.

"I've spent the last six months sparring in the snow, practicing with various weapons until arms and legs gave out, eating frozen meat for almost every meal, trying to please my indifferent uncle, sitting through endless hours of tutors prattling on about political science and diplomacy, and did I mention eating the raw fish? Countless meals of raw, half-frozen fish. .day."

"But fish _is_ meat. You said that twice already." Quipped Michiko.

"Fish isn't meat." With a flick of her wrist, Yui opened a paper fan, painted with a winter mountain range and the folds were tipped with sharpened spikes.

"Over-heated already, Your Highness!" Michiko made the mistake of laughing.

With one powerful thrust of her arm, wild wind and ice flew from her fan. Michiko was so busy laughing and holding her gut that she had not seen the attack coming. The wind knocked her right off her feet. She flew several feet backwards before a tree stopped her mid-flight. Icicles formed around her ankles. They grew and grew and grew until all but Michiko's neck was encased in an icy coffin. Yui withdrew her fan and her storm once she was satisfied with the results. Michiko wriggled her neck from side to side as if that would help her escape. Yui calmly, quietly, walked over to the tree to which she trapped her there. Her cold hand sent goosebumps down the side of Michiko's neck as she grabbed the other woman's' chin so that Michiko couldn't look away.

"In any other circumstance, I would have killed you for attempting anything against my sister. So, let this be your only warning. If I catch you near my sister again, or anyone that I care about, you'll be facing _me_, and I can assure you that I won't be so merciful next time. Understood?"

Michiko vigorously nodded her head. Tears ruining her mascara stained her pale cheeks.

Yui snapped her fingers and the ice prison shattered into chunks all over the ground at their feet. Michiko wasted no time scurrying into the dark forest.

"Whoa." Mao whispered.

Kurama was in equal awe of Yui's change. She walked with a certain air of authority and nobility that couldn't be ignored. Her hair even flowed with a certain grace. She made not a step that was not purposeful and without the power she exuded. It was breathtaking just watching her walk towards the dragons she brought with her. Wakana placed the yukata back onto Yui's shoulders while the other fixed the flyaway that had been loosened when Yui commanded her attack against such a weak demon. It seemed like she had been wrapped in beauty like a silk garment.

* * *

"Oh my gosh!" Yui exclaimed, cramming more rice into her stuffed cheeks. "I never thought I could miss sticky rice so much!"

"Um, Yui, you got a little somethin'." Yusuke tapped the corner of his mouth.

Yui glanced up to look at his gesture, blushed, and immediately grabbed a napkin to wipe her face.

"If you keep eating like that, you're going to give yourself a stomach ache."

"I know, but I haven't eaten decent food in six months." Yui finished chewing. "Somebody hand me the sweet and sour shrimp."

Yusuke handed over the platter of deep-fried shrimp coat in the red-orange sauce.

"You know this is meat right? What about your vegetarian diet?"

"I'm afraid that ship has sailed." She grabbed a couple pieces from the plate and plopped them down unto her own. "It's rather difficult to be a vegetarian dragon. Those two word don't exactly go together. 'Vegetarian dragon' doesn't exactly strike fear into the hearts of your enemies."

"And, uh, those two you brought along with you?" Yusuke pointed towards the dimly shadowed figures sitting on the porch through the open door.

"Oh, Miu and Wakana. They're sort of my bodyguards. For the time being."

Wakana slipped inside with her empty tea cup. She quietly poured herself another cup and waited for the tea to steep.

"Lord Akio thought it best considering the _family history_. And since Lord Izo isn't here, he thought it best given the situation and Miu and I may observe the situation for the next few months. Besides, Yuki-Hime may need time to adjust to her new abilities and strength. It was better than sending her home by herself."

"'Yuki-Hime,'" Yusuke took a swig of his drink. "Why do you keep calling her that?"

"It's just a formal title. It means 'Snow Princess,' but basically they keep calling me 'Your Highness.'"

"Just don't let it go to your head, _Highness._" Yusuke chuckled.

"When have I ever let something go to my head?" Yui laughed back.

Kuwabara returned from his restroom break to find at least half the food lay on Yui's plate. He started to complain, but was quickly silenced by a sharp glare from Wakana. He shivered like a spider crawled down his spine. He quietly sat back down again and looked around the room. There was an empty spot next to him.

"Where's Kurama?" Kuwabara finally pointed out the fact that somebody was missing from the party.

"Send somethin' about going for a walk." Yusuke answered.

* * *

It was easy for Kurama to excuse himself for only a little while. He had gotten his message earlier in the day, just before school started in the morning. Hiei looked on edge, like he was itching for a fight. There were only a few brief words in his message, but that was Hiei for you. Kurama excused himself and ducked out soon enough to meet him at the designated spot in the woods. He further and further away from the well-lit dining room and ventured ever closer to the dark woods. It wasn't the near darkness that frightened him, it was Hiei's habit of causing trouble that gave him cause to worry. Hiei appeared more disgruntled than usual this morning. And Kurama was about to find out why.

Hiei stood beneath the shade of a large tree. Slivers of moonlight broke through the thickets of pine needles and cast over Hiei an ominous glow. Kurama was too cautious to be too forward. Whatever it was that Hiei wanted, Kurama could not make a sign or give cause for a alarm. This conversation was to be handled calmly, rationally, and in a mature manner.

"Hiei." He greeted.

"Kurama."

"If you've come to deride me further about my feelings towards Yui then you know should that my patience has grown thin. I respect you as a friend, but I cannot abide by your offending opinions against her. She has done nothing to you and she certainly wouldn't plan to do so either."

"If you insist on following through with those feelings of yours," Hiei seethed, "Then I cannot object. It's your life. It's your choice."

"Then what do you want, Hiei?"

"I just spent the last four months collecting information from the Demon World. Rumors have already started to trickle their way down south from her father's country of origin. I just thought you ought to know."

"What kind of rumors?" Kurama was almost too afraid to ask.

"I heard it along the grapevine that there's a reason to believe that she could be S-class. Or at least much more powerful than anybody could have thought. Given how weak she was to begin with, that couldn't be that much."

"But that can't be possible. You've seen her. There's nothing in her spirit energy to suggest that she's S-class."

"I know. However, there's no certainty that she is. They are just rumors after all."

The trees rustled around them. A heavy thickness lay in the air, something dark and tangible. The trees didn't tremble just because of the wind, but also because of something more sinister in the air.

"Thank you for warning me, Hiei. I will take that into consideration." Kurama turned on him, started to head back and return to the party.

"That isn't all you have to worry about."

Kurama paused.

"You won't be the only vying for her hand. She's the heir presumptive to a huge piece of land, power, and wealth. Don't you think that others will follow suit, when they hear about just how much she's worth? If you wish to have her for your own, I suggest that you get on it."

Hiei flitted out of sight. Only the vague imprint of his feet in the grass was left behind. Kurama was a little unsettled, to say the least, when he finally returned. He put on his bravest face and ignored the thoughts running through his head. Yui smiled at him with a dot of sweet and sour sauce on her lip. She licked it clean, probably in hopes that he didn't see it. He discreetly checked her aura. There was no trace of the supposed power Hiei said she contained. But why should he believe rumors? They were just that, rumors. To be honest, he was more concerned about the other thing Hiei said. Suitors? It wasn't that Yui wasn't attractive enough to have any, quite the opposite actually. She was pretty, intelligent, level-headed (most of the time), and unbelievably stronger than she used be. She made herself that way, not because she wanted to impress anybody, only to improve herself. That was one of her best features. Fixing herself for her own sake and not someone else's. It was a trait Kurama found both remarkable and refreshing. So many girls he heard about changed themselves for their parents or boyfriends. Yui was never like any of them. Losing her was what he feared most. Losing her to someone else gave him the second greatest pain he had felt, second only to some tragedy to happen to his human mother. To the rest, he was just being his usual quiet self. They wouldn't know about the inner machinations and turning of gears in his head. For Yui, Kurama could only smile. She could never know about his earlier dream. No one could.

* * *

"Master."

The Master's gaze blinked at the mirror he had been staring at. Yui was finally settling down for bed. He had been sitting there in the pitch black exuding from his aura, waiting and waiting impatiently for the girl to finally go off to bed and sleep. Just a little bit longer and he could reach into the mirror to touch her. It was a poor substitute for the real thing, but it would do for now.

"This had better be good."

He could see the dim silhouette of one of his many servants. Even through his darkness, the bright yellow of her electric eyes were a dead give away from what clan she descended from.

"I have completed my assignment, Master. The committee for the Dark Tournament has _adjusted_ their rules. Yui will now be able to participate in four months time."

The Master chuckled lowly.

"That was quick."

"Master," she giggled. "I am from the Eastern clan. Of course I would have it completed before expected. They were a bunch of humans anyway. It didn't take much convincing."

"And that sister of yours. Where is she?"

"She will be taken care of soon enough. I can't guarantee when, but soon. Very soon." She sounded almost eager for the fate that would fall on her own sister.

The Master quickly picked up on that weakness.

"You sound so happy. Is she not your own flesh and blood?"

"To be fair, Master, she is only my _half_ sister."

* * *

"You want us to do what?"

Keiko hadn't quite expected a call from Mao on her day off. Mao was pacing the living room floor, biting her nails, a habit she picked up from her sister.

"She's _upset_."

"About what?"

Mao also invited Botan who was just as confused as Keiko.

"It's my sister. She gets upset easily."

"She just back home. Shouldn't she be happy?" Wondered Botan.

"You would think but," Mao anxiously ran her hand through her hair and then put her hands on her hips. "When I suggested she and I go grab a bite to eat at this new cafe so we can talk and bond and junk, that is until she discovered something. She went through a growth spurt while she was away and now...nothing in her wardrobe fits."

"Oh dear," Botan gasped.

"Nothing fits. Absolutely nothing."

"Not even her uniform. She's grew taller and bigger in,um, certain places." Mao gestured towards her chest.

"Oh." The other girls nodded in unison.

"She's been in her room hiding under the covers for the last hour and half. Can you help me get out of this house so we can go shopping?"

Botan eagerly clapped her hands.

"A girl's day out!"

"But first we have to get her out from under her covers first."

Botan flexed her muscles. "Leave it to me!"

"But where's Wakana and Miu? Wouldn't they be of better help? They're a lot stronger than we are?"

"Keiko, I'll have you know that I'm just as strong as a strong when I put my mind to it!"

"They're out with my mom. She's helping them disguise better so they can blend in."

The girls walked carefully towards Yui's bedroom. The door, to their surprise, was left unlocked. Clothes of all kinds were discarded around the room, very much like Yui. A massive bundle was curled up on the bed with white socks poking out from under the quilted blanket.

"Yui? Botan and Keiko are here. Don't you want to say hi?"

"Hi." Came Yui's muffled voice.

"Why don't we get you out from under there and go shopping?" Botan hopped over a pile of sweaters. "You don't want to sit there all day, do you?"

"Why not? I have nothing decent to wear. All that's left are sweatpants and over-sized t-shirts."

"That's why we need to take you shopping. So you can find clothes that fit!" Mao was exasperated and impatient. One would think that after six months of training, Yui would be more confident than this.

"You can't stay in your room forever. You have to go to school."

"Ugh, fine." Yui muffled through the sheets before she pulled them off her.

She rubbed her face in her hands. Her eyes were red and tired.

"How much sleep did you get last night?" Mao asked, worried.

"Nothing to worry about," Yui gave her sister a half-smile. "Just a bad dream."

Mao seized her wrist and from that moment on, all afternoon Yui was at the mercy of her sister and her friends. What should have been a quick affair, lasted for three hours. Mao pushed her into several changing rooms and layered a mountain of clothes in her arms while the other waited outside, seated at cushioned chairs.

"What's wrong with this look?" Mao couldn't understand why Yui looked so displeased with the ensemble she took the time to put together from the clothes rack.

"Nothing!" Yui answered, defensively. "It's just that it's blue."

"What's wrong with blue?"

"I _always_ wear blue."

"I thought you liked that color."

"No, you and Mom _assumed _that I liked blue. I just...never said anything before."

Mao groaned.

"Then what color do you like?" Asked Botan.

Yui's face flushed a new shade of pink and she looked away as if she was scared that her opinion would insult someone's ancestors.

"I might be inclined to say that I like pink."

"I'll be right back." Keiko disappeared for a good fifteen minutes and returned with a bundle of clothes stacked up to her chin. She wobbled as she walked, unsure of where to put her feet. Slowly, she walked up to Yui put the bundle in her arms. There were so many variations of pink and in different fabrics that Yui didn't know what to do with them all. Only with some pushing and prodding did she walk back into the changing rooms.

It would be another ten to fifteen minutes before she emerged again wearing a light-weight chiffon and cotton sundress. It reached to Yui's ankles. The bust was perfectly fitted, though a smidgen tight. The bottom of the dress flowed down to her ankles in cascades of wavy chiffon. A short length of ruffles lined the top of the bodice. The three girls stared at her.

"It looks weird, doesn't it?" Yui began chewing on her finger nails.

"Just the opposite. You look adorable. I'm sure _Kurama _would like it." Botan giggled before Mao elbowed her in the gut, but it was too late.

Yui whipped around, clapping her hands on her cheeks to hide her blush. She rushed back inside the safety and privacy of the dressing room where no one could see her embarrassment. Her thoughts had been so preoccupied as of late that Kurama was hardly the center of them, most of the time. But when even the mere mention of his name without him present was enough to make Yui's cheek burn with the white-hot heat of a thousand suns, although hyperbole maintained a strong pretense. She changed quickly into her sweats, grabbed the clothes that both fit her and that she liked, and marched out of the dressing room. Hiding beneath several pairs of jeans, t-shirts, blouses, and other things, the pink chiffon sundress was secretly tucked away. Without her friends, she took the items to the register and paid for them. She returned with three or four bags in her arms. Mao sensed just how uncomfortable Yui was in this situation and called it a day. Once they were home, Yui rushed to her bedroom under the guise of organizing her new wardrobe.

Mao, being her usual nosy self, snuck up to Yui's bedroom door and pressed her ear against it. Yui was mumbling and muttering to herself, but at least there was no sign of a cold front escaping from underneath the door. Mao back away slowly and walked towards the phone in the kitchen. She knew just who to call.

* * *

Kurama had been pulled away from dinner by the time Mao called him. It sounded urgent and so he rushed from his house to the Kagami household only to find that most of the lights had been turned off. His heart started racing. The hair at the back of his neck were raised. He tried the front door despite his instincts.

"Hello?" He called.

Mao appeared around the corner, unharmed and well. He sighed with relief.

"What's the matter? You called me so suddenly. Is there something wrong with your sister?"

"Yes, and no." Mao paused to think. "She's been having trouble sleeping lately. She won't talk about it. It's starting to affect her. Today she woke up at almost one o'clock in the afternoon. That's not like her at all."

Kurama nodded.

"Yes, that doesn't sound like her. But perhaps her body is still trying to adjust? Perhaps this is the equivalent of a 'jet lag?' She could just need some rest."

"No," Mao shook her head. "I've got this gut feeling that it's something different. Something's up. I know it."

"Well," Kurama thought for a moment. "Your gut instincts were right once before. If I go and talk to her, will that make you feel better?"

Mao nodded vigorously.

"Yes, yes it would very much."

Kurama made his way down the hall until he reached Yui's bedroom. He half-expected the doorknob to be frozen stiff but all he could feel was a slightly cold steel. Classical music was blaring from the crack between the door and the carpeted floor. Mao stood near-by, unnerving him.

"Mao," he looked over his shoulder.

"Yes?" She almost sounded chipper and anxious.

"Maybe you should wait in the living room or your room."

Pouting, Mao turned about face and made her way in the opposite direction. Once she was gone, Kurama knocked at the door and opened it when no other sound besides Mozart answered him. There were four bags sitting on the floor stuffed with clothes, but they looked old and well-worn. Yui sat at her desk. She still had not have noticed him at all. Her eyes were glued to her computer, blue eyes narrowed and focused. Kurama quietly approached her after shutting the door behind him. He stepped towards him, tip-toeing, and placed his hand carefully on her shoulder. Yui gasped, almost shrieking, at his hand. She stood from her chair, panting, until she was looking at him. She gripped his hand at her shoulder sending shivers up his arm as the steely cold touch of her slender fingers came as if it was unexpected of an ice dragon.

"You startled me." Yui sighed. Her breathing returned to normal.

"I apologize. I understand that your sister is concerned about you. You haven't been sleeping well it seems. You never mentioned that in any of your letters."

Yui removed his hand and walked over to her bed. She sat down, mattress groaning beneath her, and she grabbed her pillow. She hugged it close to her torso. She cast her eyes down and avoided Kurama's gaze, like she had something to be ashamed of.

"I didn't want you to worry or think I'm crazy."

Kurama pulled up the desk chair so he sat across from her. He took her hand, not even caring about the goosebumps crawling up his arm at her cold touch.

"You're making me more worried by not telling me."

She looked him in the eyes. She was serious now.

"Can you keep a promise to keep quiet about what I'm going to tell you?"

"I'm really not sure if—"

"Lately, I've been having this strange dreams, nightmares more like. My dreams start off as they normally do, but then suddenly everything disappears and I'm left alone in this _darkness. _Then, this man appears out of nowhere. I struggle a bit but then he saps the energy right out of me. The next thing I know, he's showing me this well back in my hometown."

"And then what?" He squeezed her hand for comfort.

"I wake up. My body feels ten times heavier. I'm weak and I feel defenseless. I can hardly move at all."

"What does this man look like? What does he say?"

Yui screwed her eyes shut to remember the image of her nightmarish figure better.

"Long black hair, black eyes, pale skin. He always wears a black kimono and he...he has this power to control my dreams," her eyes snapped open. Yui visibly shivered as if to shake of the memory of this man. "And I use the term _man_ very lightly. He doesn't seem very much like a man to me. More like a demon."

"Are you saying that this man is a demon?"

"Most likely."

"And he's able to penetrate your dreams and control them?"

"Yes."

"Then we have to tell someone about this. You could be in grave danger. Even in the demon world, having someone enter your dreams whenever they see fit and control them isn't a good thing." Kurama immediately stood up and tried to take Yui with him. But she was not only obstinate, she was immovable. Literally.

She tugged back his arm with the least amount of effort. It didn't surprise him all that much, but it surprised him more than it should. Yui hastily shook her head. Her eyes were wide with fear and her grip round about his arm was hard as rock. He couldn't possibly have broken it even if he tried.

"No." Yui muttered. Kurama could barely hear her over the sound of violins and cellos masking their conversation.

"This isn't normal. You _need_ to tell someone. Anyone. What about your grandmother? Surely, she would know what to do?"

"No," Yui repeated. "Nobody can know. Not until I found out what he wants first."

"Yui, you can't be serious?"

"I'm dead serious."

Kurama gave her another once-over. She really was dead serious. Her frosty brows were screwed tighter than the nuts holding her desk together. The pale pink lips of her mouth were drawn into an unimaginably taut line and her blue eyes were narrowed into dangerous-looking slits. He swallowed hard, taking in the image.

"And you're coming with me."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I'm getting on a midnight train to Sapporo, tonight. You can either come with me or you can stay behind. I won't force you."

"You're not going to go alone."

"Which is why I'm asking you to join me. I'm willing to take 'no' for an answer, but it would behoove you to keep an eye on me, if only to make yourself feel better."

"You're not joking, are you?"

"I told you I'm dead serious. Now are you coming with me or not?"

Kurama heaved a sigh that seemed to have weighed a ton. He pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking. The stubbornness of the mother had descended upon the daughter.

"I can't just let you go by yourself. I really have no choice in the matter, do I?"

"Not at this point anymore."

* * *

Sneaking out was the easy part. Getting past the security guards or at least avoiding asking that were far too probing for Kurama's liking was a piece of cake. Waiting at the station for Yui to show up was agony. He looked at his watch. It was almost eleven forty-five. He could hear the train far off in the distance, only a few kilometers away. If she didn't show up, he could only assume that she was foiled and retained safely back at home. Where he should have been if that cunning little girl hadn't twisted his arm, both metaphorically and physically. He had looked at his arm in the mirror when he got home, rolled up his sleeve, and found the purple and blue bruise decorating his arm like a tattoo. Yui had not realized that she had caused him harm, but then again she probably didn't realize that her new found strength was capable of doing such things. And possibly more. So much more.

"Sorry, I'm late. Hope you weren't waiting for too long." Yui climbed into the empty seat on the bench next to him, unloading her backpack at her feet.

"Is this going to be a day trip?" He cast a look at his own luggage from the corner of his eye.

"The teacher's conference should be last a whole week but we'll be back long before then. A day or two. I promise. Just long enough for me to get answers."

"What do you expect to find?"

"I don't know yet.

Before either could say anything more, the train sped into the station and eventually slowed at the boarding pass. Only a handful of passengers were left off. Yui and Kurama climbed aboard. Their tickets were promptly handed over to the security guard who gave them both a suspicious look. They surfed their way between empty aisles of seats before finding a pair at the very back of the cabin. Setting themselves down for a very long ride, Kurama managed to stay awake longer than Yui. As soon as the train pulled out of the station, her eyelids grew heavy and began to close. He watched as they closed completely, her black lashes caressing the tops of her pink-hued cheeks. Her lips parted in the sweetest manner and he was tempted for an instant to do something out of character and unnecessarily naughty, but Kurama thought against it and immediately put such thoughts back in the gutter where they belonged. The dream of his own was getting to him. It was still quite the vivid dream, especially since he rarely dreamed at all. Weren't dreams supposed to be just the manifestations of the subconscious? They weren't supposed to be so _detailed_. Besides, how could he have possibly known that Yui liked pearls to begin with or if that little detail was just a figment of his imagination? There was more fantasy than truth muddling around in his brain at the moment thanks to the strange dream that would never be mentioned aloud for so long as he lived.

After what seemed to be forever, Kurama nodded off to sleep himself. He was suddenly startled awake by this pressure on his shoulder. His eyes cracked open and he turned. There was Yui sound asleep, snoring like her precious dire wolf, and using his shoulder as a make-shift pillow. Kurama found it oddly comforting to have her so close to him. At the very least he knew where she was and that she was safe. He reclined back into his seat. He managed to pull his arm about her shoulder and pushed her ever-so-slightly nearer to him. Slipping his hand back, he crossed his arms and fell asleep again.

* * *

Be prepared. Next chapter will, without a doubt, include much needed, and hopefully much anticipated fluffiness, before shit gets real. Sorry for the long wait. I made the mistake of letting my creative energy go into so many stories, both fanfiction and original, that I rarely have anything to add. Thanks so much for the support and being so patient. XOXO, sweetings!


	22. Chapter 22

"Yui, we're here."

She cracked open her eyes. There was still darkness and shadows outside the train's windows. It had come to a full stop, and with the doors held wide open, she could smell the familiar air. Just because it had been a seven or eight years didn't mean that Yui could easily forget the smell of her hometown.

Rubbing her eyes, Yui shook sleep from eyes before leaving her seat. Kurama politely put his hand on her lower back to help guide her out of the train. The conductor gave them a strange look, knowing full well that they were both high school students arriving on a train together but without adult supervision. He, of course, had no authority and certainly held no power over them. He stepped aside and watched them exit the train, though he made mental note to tell his supervisor about this.

"What time is it?" Yui asked, yawning.

"About six A.M." Kurama looked around at the businessmen and workers waiting around for their own train to come along. For the time being, it probably would have been better to lay low until the schools let out in the afternoon. No sense in bringing attention to themselves. "Perhaps we should find a place to get some rest. You look like you need it."

Yui ignored his soft chuckle at her expense. She didn't have a mirror on hand but she probably looked like a mess. Running a hand through her hair, it felt oily to the touch, unwashed. Her clothes were wrinkled and her neck was sore from sleeping in a bad position. Like she had been craning her neck against something for too long. She cracked the bones in her neck and felt instant relief.

She looked at Kurama. "How do you feel about walking?"

* * *

Walking? Walking she said. Walking, according Yui Kagami, was not exactly a stroll through the park. Not that Kurama really complained. It wasn't as awful as she made it out to be, but nevertheless had he known that their journey would also include a trek by bus through the city before dismounting on a rural road so far from Sapporo that you could barely make out the smog and the skyline beyond the hills. Mud clung to his boots and the cuffs of his pants. Winter snow may have melted, however it left a patch land of soggy earth. More than once his shoe threatened to dislodge itself from his foot when he was stuck in a particularly bad patch of mud. Yui turned around as soon as he heard him struggle. She laughed at him before pulling him out.

"Do you want me to carry you the rest of the way or can you manage from here?" Yui joked.

There were on a mission to find information about a possible demon haunting her dreams and a mysterious well yet Yui was there beaming at him brighter than he could remember. Her smile was as soft as the rosy color of her lips.

"Thank you for the offer, but I don't think it would do to let you carry me. I'm certain it should be the other way around."

Yui smirked and one of her frosty brow's quirked up towards the sky.

"I'm not the one who got stuck in the mud." She turned her back to him. "Haven't you ever been hiking before?"

"Not really, though you seem to have more knowledge on the subject."

"Contrary to popular belief, as a child I did venture out of doors. Quite often too. Me and my sister both. As kids we used to play a lot outside and at least three times a year we had family camping trips out in the woods. All four of us together." Yui's smile dimmed and her eyes became not so bright.

Kurama followed swiftly after her and caught up, though the mud felt heavy at the bottom of his jeans.

"What else can you tell me about your father? If you don't mind me asking."

"Not at all. I'd rather talk about him than forget he was ever there." Yui answered, her smile bittersweet at the thought of the memories rolling in.

The path to the village, she remembered it like the back of her hand or a really good book she read. It was a common dirt road; it was no different from any other dirt road in any other place in the world. There were sign posts leading them closer to their destination. They were more aged and rusted than Yui remembered. The grass encircling them was more overgrown than she recalled. She kicked a pebble out of her footpath.

"My father...was different. Not in an extraordinarily eccentric manner. Just different. I think you two would get along very well."

"How so?" Kurama asked.

"Well," Yui thought, "For an ice dragon, he had a strange fascination with flowers and plants. There's that."

"Is there anything else?"

"He's smart. Cunning, you could say. He and I used to play chess. I think he really liked the game but I also like to think that he might have been mentally preparing me for more _political _games."

"Preparing you to be the heir to your clan, is that right?"

Yui shrugged.

"Possibly, but then he and Mom didn't tell us a lot of things either. I didn't know my mother was a descendant of another dragon. I just knew that most of my roots came from my father's side. If she hid that, what else could she be hiding?"

"Like the demon at the bottom of a well?"

"I don't know what he is or what he wants. Either way, however, I doubt that my mother would give up such information. She's become extremely protective after my father disappeared eight years ago. Come to think of it, in a few months Mao and I will turn sixteen. To think that my father would have missed to see us growing up without him. It's kind of painful when you think about it."

Kurama reached out to touch her shoulder, maybe even pull her close to him and hold her for a while. He never knew his human father but not having one at all made it seem easier than having one and then to lose them so suddenly. Just his hand almost grazed her, Yui jerked away as if she sensed what he was about to do and jogged uphill.

"Do you want to see where I grew up?"

Kurama shook himself and followed suit. He climbed up the hill and stood next to her. The valley below seemed like a screenshot from a Ghibli film. Rather bright and picturesque. There were very few words to describe it otherwise. The houses were very traditional looking, aside from the little shops with more modern and more Western appeal to them. Trees and shrubs lined the sidewalks but there were very few flowers, though he wasn't certain that could be expected so far north. Sapporo was known for its fishing and Snow Festival. If you wanted to see flowers, you'd better head south.

"Over there is the library, though I don't remember that coffee shop being so close. And there's the playground where me and my sister played as kids. It looks like they added new equipment. And over there is the school we went to. Not far beyond that is the house we used to live in." Yui pointed out all the places with a wonderful gleam in her eyes. It was rather nice to see her so happy for once.

"Will anyone recognize us when we walk into town?" He noted a few kids down in the valley making their way to the schools and parents getting into their cars to head towards the city.

"It's rather difficult to forget white hair and blue eyes, but I don't think anybody will really mind. I doubt anybody would really care to begin. Now come on! I want to get settled for little while. Then we can see about getting something to eat. I don't know about you, but I could eat a horse."

"Considering that you're a dragon, you really could!" Kurama laughed, enduring the punch to his arm he received for such a joke.

"Hey, I haven't even gotten my scales yet!"

"Gotten your scales? What does that mean?"

"According to my grandmother, I'm what they call a hatchling. I've come into my powers, but I don't have my true form yet. My dragon form that is. Receiving your scales is what they say when a person such as myself reaches full maturity and is able to fully access all of their power and abilities, including turning into a dragon."

"I see. I'm curious about one thing though." He gently pulled Yui off to the side to avoid the car coming towards them.

"What's that?"

"Are you a dragon that has a human form or a demon with a human form that can turn into a dragon?"

Yui's brows furrowed. She thought and thought, thoroughly confusing herself. She remained for a long before she cracked a smile and short chuckled erupted from her throat.

"You know what? I don't have the faintest idea."

"And what about your sister? Do you know or not if she'll ever gain any powers like you have?"

They reached the steep slope which dived directly into the valley.

"I'm not sure. Funny thing is, I was told that the first born receives the strongest traits. My father was the first of my grandmother, who was the first born of her mother who was the first born of her father and so and so forth up until the matriarch of the first family only the gods know when. I honestly don't know if Mao is a late bloomer like myself or if my mother's family gave her too much human that gaining the ability to do anything is beyond her reach. Watch your step!" Yui warned just as she saw Kurama taking a step forward but by then it was too late.

He turned his head towards her and she managed to catch him before he fell into the mud. Yui was flushed red holding him up in her arms like that. Her cold breath fanned over his face.

"Are you...alright?" She asked slowly.

Kurama righted himself. He dusted off his jacket and pretended nothing happened.

"Thanks for the warning. Tell me, how much further is it?"

"Just on the other side of the school."

"That's quite a distance." He noted as they finally passed the village gates.

"I suppose so."

"And you did this quite often in your childhood?"

"My sister and I walked a lot further than you are right now." Yui looked back at Kurama and chuckled. "And we certainly didn't lose breath either."

* * *

"ACHOO!"

Mao's sneeze rattled picnic table outside the ice cream shop. The three young ladies sat around the circular table beneath the shade of a yellow and white striped umbrella that stood guard over them from the unusually bright spring afternoon.

"Here. Use this." Botan handed Mao a paper napkin sitting next to her ice cream sundae.

Mao turned her head, discreetly blowing her nose.

"That was a powerful sneeze." Keiko noted before taking a bite from her own frozen confection.

"Somebody must be talking about me."

"I wonder where Yui is. Didn't you send her a text message to meet us here?"

Mao whipped out her phone. She checked her text messages for the umpteenth time since they ordered but not a peep came in reply.

"She's probably sleeping in or hiding her covers. Yesterday might have been too much for her. She's not used to being around people."

"I probably didn't help matters," Keiko admitted, sober, "It was kind of my fault, bringing all those clothes. I was just trying to help."

"It's not your fault. If anybody's to blame, it would have to be me. I mean, after all these years I've been acting like a stuck up brat towards her. If anything it's me who made her what she is."

"She is improving."

"In baby steps," Mao took a spoonful of her desert.

Their heads turned towards a tourist who just started standing near their table. She had a cell phone glued to her ear and her red pack was so stuffed with things that it looked like it was about to burst at the seams. She was yelling into her phone, but it was a tightly woven string of intelligible Chinese, the dialect none of them would have been able to identify even if they knew Chinese. The tourist in question seemed to have stopped randomly to answer her phone. If she hadn't looked so agitated, one could say that she was a very attractive young woman. She was fair in complexion, smooth and free of blemishes. Her knitted brows matched her raven-colored hair. Her features clearly Asian, but a mixture of Chinese and something else. Most Westerners couldn't tell the difference between the Chinese and the Japanese, but the people from the respective countries could certainly tell. Her cheek bones and eyes were different from other Japanese but some of the features were still there. Her nose was slightly smaller, her chin shorter, and her face wasn't as long. Her eyes, though, were unmistakably Japanese, except in color, with their single-lidded almond eyes. The color of those eyes was striking, a tiger's eye yellow which deeply contrasted the raven-black of her hair.

She ended her phone call abruptly. Her brows were screwed tightly. The three ladies at the table quickly turned back to their desserts as if they hadn't been watching the strange scene before them. However, the tourist must have noticed their staring. She approached Mao from behind.

"Can I ask you for directions?" She asked in perfect Japanese. "I'm lookin' for this place, but I can't make heads or tails of the city. Can you help me?"

Mao almost sighed with relief. She blushed slightly with embarrassment.

"What are you looking for?"

"This museum. It's, uh, the Art and History Institute. Somethin' like that I think. It's the place where they're having a Chinese exhibit. I'm supposed to meet somebody there."

"You mean the Sasaki Institute."

The woman snapped her finger.

"That's the one!"

"Um," Mao paused. "I'm not entirely sure where that is. I'd have to ask my sister. She's the one who would probably know where it is exactly. Let me call her." She whipped out her cherry-pink cell phone and sped through the coded lock before tapping into her phone's directory. Yui's number was pulled from the very bottom of the list and Mao held it up to her ear. It rang, and rang, and rang until Yui finally picked up. The sound was grainy and she could barely make out her sister's voice.

"H-hello?"

"Hey, Yui. It's Mao. I'm talking to a tourist who's looking for directions to the Sasaki Institute. You know the one, right?"

"I'm familiar with it, yes."

Mao couldn't help but scrunch her face up as she tried to listen to Yui's instructions carefully. The sound was terrible. Just where was Yui getting this call from? Nevertheless, she fed Yui's directions to the tourist who thanked her and went about her merry way.

"Yui, where are you?" Mao asked once the tourist was far away. "I can barely hear you."

"Um, out for a walk. In the woods. That's probably why my reception is dying. I'll be home _later_. Bye for now!"

Mao tried to squeeze more information out of her but the call ended before she could say or ask anything else.

"That was weird."

"What is?" Asked Botan.

"Yui said that she was walking through the woods but that doesn't seem like her."

"Why not? Does she hate hiking?"

"Not that I know of, but she doesn't go out into the woods for a random hike either." She looked up her phone book again, calling somebody else. This one took less time to answer.

"Hello?" It was Kurama.

"Have you seen my sister? I don't think I've seen her all morning."

"Neither have I."

His voice sounded suspicious.

"Are you sure you haven't seen her?" Then Mao heard something strange on the phone. It sounded like her sister's voice in the distance, but she wasn't one-hundred percent sure, though her gut instincts were telling her otherwise.

"Kurama, who is that?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

Liar.

"For a smart man, you're a terrible liar. I can hear her in the background. Is my sister with you? Either you tell me the truth or I'm calling my mother. And you don't want that, do you?" Mao threatened. She reclined in her chair, waiting his answer.

"Yes," Kurama answered at last. "She's with me."

"Where?"

"I'm afraid that your sister has asked me for absolute discretion."

"Oh, has she now?" Mao laughed. "Well, whatever it is you two are doing, be _safe_."

* * *

She hung up before Kurama explain.

"My sister knows where we are, doesn't she?" Yui.

"Not quite. She probably assumes we're on a romantic rendezvous of sort. I don't why she would that idea in her head. It was not my doing, I can assure you."

"You told her otherwise, right?" Yui felt a white hot heat spreading over her cheeks.

"My stars, if it isn't Yui Kagami!" A young woman, no more than twenty, exclaimed behind the counter of a ramen stand. "It feels like I haven't seen you in years! Why are you here?"

"Hello, Kokoro-san. Kurama, this is Kokoro. She used to baby-sit me and my sister when we were kids." Yui introduced him to the woman behind the counter.

"Oh," Kokoro cooed. "Dropping the honorifics. He must be pretty special, isn't he?"

Yui covered her face with her hand.

"I'll get you two your favorite, Yui-chan. Be right back!" Kokoro disappeared to fetch the ingredients.

"Yui, are you alright?" He knew just how much she hated being asked that but the question simply fell out of his mouth with little provocation. Yui was clearly and thoroughly embarrassed. She hadn't even realized when she started calling his name without the honorifics, not that he minded, mind you, but it seemed to cause her great disturbance.

Yui didn't say anything else to him until the food arrived. Not that he could blame her. Yui was not the kind of woman who could discuss with ease her feelings.

"What cha' up to nowadays?" Asked Kokoro.

"Just here for a visit." Yui answered brusquely.

"We're here to study the shrine, for a school assignment. Yui mentioned the historical building and I suggested that we take a look at it. Take some pictures." Kurama finished the lie. She might have kissed him for being so clever.

Kokoro leaned over the counter.

"You know that place is haunted, right? Spooky things go on around there. Ghosts live there, or so they say."

"I don't remember any of that." Yui finished some of her noodles before looking up.

"I don't see how. You wandered off there and fell down a well when you were real little."

Yui's brows furrowed sharply.

"I don't remember that either."

Kokoro scratched the back of her neck. "I'm about five or six years older than you, so I must have been ten at the time and you were five. You wandered away from your parents during the Bon Festival and somehow ended up at the haunted shrine. Everybody was freaking out as I recall when they couldn't find you. Everybody went frantically looking for you until somebody heard you crying. You fell down the well in the shrine."

"I certainly don't remember any of that."

"Well, it was probably pretty traumatic for a little kid. I wouldn't blame you if you were traumatized enough to forget."

"Thank you." Yui said solemnly.

Kurama reached for his wallet and opened it, intending to pay for the food. Kokoro reached out and closed his wallet.

"It's on the house." She winked.

Kurama turned to Yui. She had pushed aside her bowl of ramen despite the fact that her stomach strongly objected to such an action. Her hand was pressed firmly against her forehead. He reached out to touch her shoulder, give her some kind of comfort, but he stopped himself. He wondered if that was the kind of comfort that she needed. He deliberated for a moment or two before retracting his hand. Yui picked up her chop sticks and resumed eating. It was the longest moment of silence between them. They ate quietly until they were both finished.

In the meantime, the sky turned a dark gray with stormy-looking clouds looming over head. They left the ramen stand in pursuit of the shrine. Yui walked with a sour face as they marched up hill using the stone paths reaching into the heart of the small mountains that guarded the village below.

"There it is." Yui pointed to the roughly hewn well in the middle of the stone courtyard.

It had been sitting there, abandoned and unused for centuries. The original masonry was falling apart. The rest of the shrine wasn't in much better shape. Roof shingles were sliding off and crashing to the ground. The courtyard was littered with debris and graffiti, broken cobbles were split asunder by unmanaged weeds, and the air smelt of something awful. Was it the garbage in the unkempt yard or was it the scent of death from the lingering ghosts.

"This is what he showed me."

"Who?"

"The demon from my nightmares." Yui groaned. "He kept showing me this well."

"Is there anything in particular about it?"

Yui circled round the well, inspecting it as if to find a clue.

"It looks like an ordinary well. But something that Kokoro-san strikes a chord with me. She said that I fell down this well as a child. The demon in my dreams said that this is where we met, but as far as I can tell…it looks like an ordinary abandoned well to me."

Kurama looked about. He sensed residual energy lingering about the area like a sickening fog. It almost raised the hairs on the back of his neck and long his arms. Yui was kneeling on the ground, feeling up the stone sides of the well and examining it. Her brows were furrowed; she was concentrating.

"Have you found anything?" He stooped next to her.

Yui didn't seem to be phased at all by their closeness. She wasn't paying any attention at all. She was so completely focused that it would take a lot more than that to break her concentration. It was both admirable and frightening how seriously she took things.

"Approximately, 16th century masonry. If you look carefully, the mortar and the shape of the stones used are pretty accurate for stonework of that period. I'm not sure when they stopped used it, but if I had to guess it must have been around mid-century. That's about the same time records indicate the temple was last in use."

"How did you come up with that?"

Yui turned and suddenly went red in the face. Kurama was so close; they were practically touching. She rose quickly to her feet, dusting off her jeans.

"Well, there's only one way to get to the bottom of this." She walked back to her bag. After much fumbling and rummaging through her things, Yui retrieved a long length of rope.

"Where did you get that?"

"Basement. Mom keeps some rope lying around the house in case we might need it to pull the car out of the snow. The well reaches about four feet from ground level. That means, if my calculations are correct, there's a good ten to fifteen feet from ground level to the bottom of the well." She tied the rope around her waist. "This should be more than enough."

"Y-yui, what is it that you think you're doing?"

The well was clearly not safe. He took a long look down its large shaft. It was slick and slimy from deposited moisture. There was no way a ray of sunshine had touched very far down even when it was first erected. All he had on him was a tiny flash light.

"Kurama?" Yui called, holding out the rope. "Either you help lower me down or I'll find something else to tether the other end of this rope on."

He sighed, and a heavy one at that. He grabbed the rope nevertheless. Yui swung her legs over the side of the well. Her fingers pressed in between the tiny cracks in the masonry.

"Give me some rope." She ordered. Kurama let go a little bit of length.

"Be careful." Kurama continued to give her more until he could barely see her white hair against the darkness.

"I've hit the bottom!" Yui's voice echoed.

"Do you see anything?"

What a silly question. Of course she couldn't see anything. She was ankles-deep in wet sludge and muck. It was so cloudy out that even if there was some sunshine, Yui still wouldn't have been able to separate the walls from the floor. Her sense of smell, however, was another story altogether. Over five hundred years' worth of smells invaded her senses. Whatever had been down here before, it certainly wasn't a bed of roses.

Carefully, she felt around the walls. All her finger tips were met with was slick carved walls edged away by the years. There were no carvings, no engravings, not a thing. Once her eyes had gotten used to the darkness, Yui started looking for any sign that _something _had been down here. She pulled her hands along the edges, around the floor. Still, there was nothing. Not even a finger bone. Perhaps this whole trip was a waste of time and the reoccurring nightmares were nothing more than strange imaginations. The lack of evidence certainly pointed in the direction.

She was about to tug on the rope for Kurama to haul her back up when she came across something in the muck. Her fingers had barely grazed it but she felt it, of that she was certain. Yui dug her nails in deeper. Her hands were gross with brownish-green sludge and for a second she thought something crawled onto her hand, only for her to find six tiny legs. An insect, nothing frightening. She flicked it off, throwing it against the stone wall, and continued her search. Her fingers found it again. A deep mark etched into the solid stone. Yui gave the rope a sharp tug. With Kurama's help, she propelled herself out of the well. Kurama grabbed some towels from his own bag and dried Yui's hands.

"T-thank you." She blushed.

"Did you find anything?"

"Possibly. The bottom of the well feels like something was carved into the stone."

"How are we going to get a closer look?"

They turned their heads towards the rumbling thunder. The gray clouds appeared darker than before. Yui sniffed the air. It smelled of rain, soon.

"I've got an idea." She answered, spreading her arms wide. Her eyes closed and once more her face was etched in concentration. Her hands were held open for a moment, then they closed. They moved slowly towards the ground before her knuckles tightened. Kurama watched in silence as Yui raised her arms again. A grinding sound echoed from the well. He turned towards it and looked over the edge. Brown-green muck had been frozen over. Yui froze the bottom of the well and make a rather effective stamp. He stepped back as the giant puck of ice was lifted out of the well and rested on the ground. Yui released her power. Bits of ice fell away but not by accident. What was left over was an intricate sign that Kurama didn't recognize or claim that he saw before. It appeared as a hexagram of some kind, marked with crisscrossing lines and odd kanji so weathered away it would be impossible to determine exactly what it said. A giant slash mark appeared in the middle of the symbol disturbed the most. It was out of place, and worse yet, it made him wonder what that seal was holding back and if whatever it was, was strong enough to break through. But without any references there was no way to determine what kind of seal this was or if it was made to conceal or confine anything, let alone a demon.

_Click_.

Yui had her cell phone out, taking pictures.

"What are you going to do with those?" He asked.

"I'll study them closer when I get home." She snapped her phone shut. "At least it's a start."

"Yui?"

"Yes," she glanced down.

"Are you okay?"

Her brows furrowed, this time with irritation.

"Why do you always ask me that?"

"Because I worry about you. You make me worry, and I'm not sure if I like that." He took a couple of steps closer. Just enough as to not startle her.

"I'm becoming a grown woman, Kurama. I know how to take of myself."

"I know. That's what I like about you. You've changed in these last six months. You're not as timid."

"What do you mean '_not as timid_?' Are you saying I'm still that child?"

"No, no, you misunderstand," Kurama raised his hands defensively. "What I meant to say was that…you're still you. You didn't change all that much. You're stronger now. Physically and mentally. Not a lot of people could have done in that in such a short amount of time."

"Y-you're just saying to…to make me feel better."

Kurama was two seconds away from grabbing her hand and hauling her into his arms just to get her to shut up. There was only so much self-depreciation that he could take from her. Yui was lucky that the approaching storm arrived earlier than expected. It started as one or two drops on their heads before it poured down on them in buckets. They were quick enough to grab for their things just as the earth started to smell of fresh water and wet grass. The place was abandoned, dusty, and old, but it was also very dry. Yui couldn't believe that such a place, without care for hundreds of years, could go without a single leak.

"We won't be able to walk back until the path is dried up. It's too dangerous to march downhill even when the rain stops. I'm afraid we will have to wait this out." Yui felt around her head. Her hair felt uncomfortably damp. She grabbed a hair tie from her bag and combed her fingers through her hair. Suddenly, she felt Kurama sit right behind her. He grabbed the hair tie from her hand. His fingers swiftly went to work braiding her hair, which had grown much longer than when he last saw her. Sitting on the floor, the ends of her snow-white hair not only touched the bare, moldy wood, it carpeted. When he was finished, her hair reached the end of her back.

"Thank you. I didn't know you could do that." Yui chuckled.

"What? Braid hair?"

"I didn't want to assume, but generally boys aren't taught to braid hair unless they have at least one sister."

"I wasn't taught to braid but it looks easy to do."

"Would you like me to do yours, then? To keep it out of the way. I've got extra ties if you'd like."

"Thank you but I'm well enough on my own. I won't object to having one of those, though. Just to pull my hair back."

Yui retrieved another from her bag and handed it over to him. As Kurama pulled back his hair, slick with rain, she had to be honest with herself. He looked with his hair in a ponytail.

* * *

"Wakane, right?" Yusuke was surprised by the ice dragons' sudden appearance at his door step. Yet, judging by the serious looks on their faces he had a feeling that he was going another rescue mission again.

"Yes, we were wondering if you've seen Yuki-Hime today?"

"Yui? No, I haven't seen her since she got back a couple of days ago. Did you try asking her sister?"

"Mao-san said that she hasn't seen her sister since yesterday." Miu let off more concern than her comrade. She wasn't to let these things bother her, but the safety of the heiress to the clan was riding on this.

"We've managed to convince their mother that Yuki-Hime is off training somewhere. We didn't want her to get in trouble."

"Do you if Kurama has seen her?" Yusuke asked.

"We've tried getting a hold of him but the only person home is the woman who appears to be his mother. We don't know where he is either."

Yusuke scratched his chin in thought. "Where's Mao?"

"Gathering clues at the house."

* * *

"Yusuke, thanks for coming. I didn't know who else to call. Wakane and Miu are keeping my mom distracted but I don't think it'll last very long." Mao pulled herself up to Yui's computer. "I'll go through her search history, you find her diary. Maybe we'll find something there."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute." This felt like a trap. "Are you asking me to find your sister's diary, break it open, and peep inside? A girl's diary? Isn't that supposed to be on of your most sacred objects?"

"I'm not asking you to break into the Vatican Museum. I'm giving you permission to peep into my sister's diary."

"Doesn't that seem a little sketchy? I mean, it's not _your_ diary."

Mao huffed.

"Would you shut up and look for clues! Or are you Spirit Detective in title only?"

"Alright, alright. Don't get so crabby." Yusuke mumbled under his breath as he started looking around the room. Nothing out of the ordinary here, unless you counted the OCD level of cleanliness. What did this girl do for fun besides read and do homework? However, being the juvenile that he was, Yusuke could hardly pass up the opportunity to poke around a girl's bedroom without the threat of being slapped in the face into oblivion.

The most obvious and safest bet was the bed. Girls liked to lounge around on it, so he'd been told. Although, judging by the lack of sloppiness, he could tell that Yui didn't do very of the _lounging_ in her bed. Still, if he were a girl, somewhere around the bed or under it would be the first place he'd put such a thing as a diary. Yui's bed was much more girler than he imagined it to be. Not that he imagined Yui's bed at all, not if Kurama had something to say about it. It was frilly and lacey and bedecked in soft pink and some kind of fancy flower only Kurama would be able to label. The white lace bedskirt wrapped around the bed and obscured the underbelly. Yusuke ducked down first. Mao was grumbling and swearing behind him. She was having trouble decoding the password on Yui's computer. He heard tempermental clacking of keys of a rushed and frustrated woman at the computer just as he stooped all the way down to his knees and shot his hand under the skirts. For a little while, all he felt was cold carpeting under his fingertips. His hand, then, brushed against something more solid than carpeting. It felt hard and smooth. Seizing it with both hands, Yusuke tugged at the trunk and found its handles on either side of its body. Pulling out into the light of day, a faint layer of dust covered the lid, Yusuke observed that it was long and wide. The best part was it had no locks. He rubbed his hands, excited nerves pulsing through him. The lid was popped open.

"Found anything yet?" Mao had finally found the password taped under Yui's desk. She was waiting for the Internet to kick in and allow her to look at Yui's search history.

"Um, Mao?" She wasn't sure if she liked Yusuke's tone. What on earth did he find under Yui's bed? It couldn't possibly be that bad.

She turned to find Yusuke holding up an anime plushie. Mao recognized as a character from some shoujo that was popular, Ouran High School Host Club. Before she knew, she lost interest in looking for clues and was mesmerized by the strange collection of things Yui kept hidden under her bed. Within the next second, Mao was sitting next to Yusuke looking through the secret trunk. Their mouths hung open.

"To think your sister was a closet otaku…"

"Yeah." Mao could only reply with that much.

"Shouldn't you be going through your sister's Internet history?"

* * *

To each their own corners…Kurama unfurled his sleeping bag directly onto the floor. He could have snuggled himself inside the safe confines of his sleeping bag, but found that he couldn't ignore the niggling itch in his head and in his stomach. He turned to look at Yui over his shoulder. His eyes had gotten used to the darkness well after they had been chased inside the abandoned shrine. Yui had her hands clapped over her ears.

"Yui, are you afraid of lightning?"

The storm hadn't let up at all, hence why they had been stuck indoors for several hours. In fact, it had gotten worse. Thunder, lightning, and heavy rain echoed throughout the valley and up along the hills until every sound resonated with the storm. Yui's eyes were screwed tight and brows heavily furrowed as yet another clap of thunder rolled over head. Still, she managed to hear him just fine.

"It's not that. My hearing," she winced prying one eye open. "It's a lot better than it used to be. I'm becoming a dragon after all."

Her teeth ground against each other.

"Why don't you sleep by me?" Kurama patted down the area of flooring next his sleeping bag, which he crawled into shortly after.

To no surprise, Yui blushed furiously.

"I-I toss and turn sometimes. And I won't be able to get a decent night of sleep because of the storm. I've got such a migraine now."

"I might have some medicine for that. It will put you right to sleep, if you want it." He reached for his bag and retrieved the medicine. "But you'll have to come over here and take it."

Yui looked anxiously around the room. When the blank shadows provided no answers, she grabbed one end of her sleeping bag and dragged it across the floor towards where Kurama was laying. She set it down, worked out the wrinkles, and sat on her haunches. Kurama passed her a couple of pills. She swallowed them dry with difficulty. Yui crawled inside her bag, turning her back towards Kurama. If that weren't enough, the pills didn't kick in as soon as she thought it would. She threw open the sleeping bag and slept on top of it. The proximity was too much for her body to handle. Yui thought she was going to fry in there.

Kurama chuckled.

Did he really laugh at her expense? Or was it just her imagination? He seemed to enjoy picking on her in the most subtle of ways. The memory of that kiss to her forehead had not been forgotten and that trick he pulled earlier with the medicine. That wouldn't be forgotten either. But who was really to blame? The man who tricked her or the woman who fell for it in the first place? Besides the fact that there was nothing to stop her from moving back to the other side of the chamber to sleep. What was Kurama going to do? Tie her up there. Immobize her. Then what? What would be the point of all that? Unless he wanted…

Yui stopped herself before her brain became polluted with X-rated thoughts so completely out of character that she might have mistaken herself for someone else. More to the point, this was Kurama she was talking about! Kurama! He may have been a sly, clever fox but he would never, never, ever take advantage of her, least of all like that. He was more honorable than her dirty thoughts gave him credit for.

* * *

The artifact was tucked safely inside her jacket pocket. Ancient Chinese philosophers used it guide them towards dragons in cave. How else did they get to be so smart? With it, she could finally find her father. She smiled broadly, half of her mission was complete. The second half would be the most treacherous. Japan was a new country, one that might not be the most welcoming to a half-Chinese, half-Japanese woman like herself. No matter. She wasn't here for them. She was here to find her father. After eight long years, she could see him again.

She hadn't made it very far outside the city before the artifact in her pocket started glowing. It resonated a warm heat inside her pocket. She held it out by its chain, the intricately carved piece of jade glowed yellow. It sprung up like the first flower of spring. The artifact threatened to break loose from its bindings and speed towards its destination, wherever that may be. It took all of her training just to keep it line. Green and golden flecked eyes scanned the area. There was nothing to seen nor sensed. Nothing that made her skin prickle with goosebumps.

But then that begged the question. If there was nobody there, why was this thing acting up all of a sudden? It was used to seek out dragons, but by the looks of it, there were none to be found. Maybe it was pointing in the wrong direction? Then again, that couldn't be right either. Why would there be dragons in the city? It had to be here, but where?

"You've come seeking at last."

The amulet spun her around and snapped free from its chain. A chill ran down her spine.

"I was wondering when you'd show, half breed."

She had barely enough time to look over shoulder before everything went black. Black and yellow robes that reminded her of a bumblebee came to her vision. An audible _thump_ struck her from behind while she was distracted. The face was blurry, however the voice was quite distinctive. She would never forget that voice.

"You should have just stayed in your rice paddies, filthy little mutt."

* * *

Kurama wasn't sure when the sun rose again or when the storm finally passed. All he knew when he woke up was that he couldn't move. That something was pressing against his chest. Something heavy. He cracked open his eyes. He was expecting an angry ghost or a minor demon, what he found was certainly something else entirely.

Somehow Yui managed to drape herself across his torso in her sleep. Her cold cheek rested against his chest. Her breathing was surprisingly calm and steady. She had no idea what she had done. He tried to shift a little, but Yui seemed to have weighed more than he thought. As a dragon, of course she would weigh more than him, the trick was that you wouldn't feel it unless they were unleashing some of their spirit energy. Her arms were wrapped tightly behind his back. Would she even be able to feel her arms when she woke up? How could she otherwise?

"Yui?" Kurama whispered soft as lamb's skin.

She groaned in her sleep. What's more, she was angry about it. Her brows furrowed in the way he didn't like. When she was irritated. It was very dangerous thing to wake a sleeping dragon. Especially when she has her claws digging into your shoulder. It was useless to struggle. Just let it be. At least he could say he had a nice view. When Yui relaxed, she looked incredibly at peace with the world, if only in her dreams. By the looks of it, she had been sleeping soundly, no nightmares. That was good. Before he could stop himself, Kurama's hand found its way to the top of Yui's head. His fingers started threading through the loose strands of hair that had been freed in the night; the hair tie lay nowhere in sight. Whatever she did with her hair, Yui better keep it up. It was like running his hand through pure silk. He could slide his fingers clean through it no problem. He felt himself relax, though he really had no choice in the matter.

Kurama closed his eyes for a moment, just a moment. In that amount of time, the room's door was thrown open. He opened his eyes again, this time to find Yusuke grinning like a mad fool at the scene.

"Well, hello there?"

"Yusuke?"

"Watcha doin' there, buddy?" Yusuke couldn't fight the impressive smirk carved into his cheeks. This was too good to be true. It almost made him want to take out his phone in his back pocket and snap a picture of the two love birds.

"This isn't what it looks like. I swear."

"Uh-huh. Tell yourself that all you want but that's not gonna change the fact that you've got a girl curled on your chest." Yusuke leaned against the door's paneling. "So, whatcha gonna do now?"

"Please, I beg you to keep this between us—"

Yusuke snapped a picture. It was too good to pass up.

"Don't worry. This'll be our little secret." Yusuke chuckled at the new picture on his phone.


	23. Chapter 23

"Excuse me? You want me to do what?" Mao looked, incredulous, as her sister.

Yui was biting her lower lip. It purpled underneath her hard teeth. In her hands, she clutched unto a bow, apparently a gift from one of her uncle's councilmen. She looked at Mao with hopeful yet nervous bright eyes.

"No matter how much I plead or beg or cry, do not let me back away from the tryouts."

"You want to try out for the archery club? Don't you think it's a little soon for that? You're coming back to school after six months. People are going to wonder where you've been and what you've been doing in all that time. They're going to ask questions. Trying out for a team or a club is just going to give them an excuse to pick on you again."

Yui sucked in a deep breath before replying.

"Mao, after what I've seen, I don't think a group of petty high school girls are going to bother much anymore. Besides," she paused, looking down at her feet. "This isn't about them. It's about me. If I'm ever going to gain self-confidence as a fighter and Uncle Akio's heir, I _need_ to do this. Even if I don't make the team, it's better if I tried and failed than if I didn't try at all."

Mao looked at her sister long and hard. There was no changing her mind when it was made up. That was the one thing that they had in common. Yui's white, frosty brows were tight and furrowed. Determination was written all over her face. There was nothing Mao could do except do the one thing she should have started doing all those years ago, behaving like a sister. If this is what Yui wanted to do, then as her sister, Mao would support however she could and cheer her on all the way.

"If this is what you really want…"

"It is." Yui said, resolute.

"Then I'll do whatever it takes to get you there!"

Yui dropped the bow and wrapped her arms around Mao's waist. She was strong enough to lift the other girl clear off her feet. Mao winced at Yui's newfound strength. It literally took her breath away.

"Um, Yui," Mao gasped, tapping on her sister's shoulder. "Could you…put me down? I need some air."

"Oh. Sorry." Yui quickly released. "I'm still not used this."

Yui stared at her hands, unsure of herself.

"Does Kurama know you're trying out for archery?"

"No!" Yui snapped, blushed. "I mean, no. And he and Mom better not find out either. Please, keep it a secret."

Mao crossed her heart with an 'X.'

"I swear on my honor."

"Another thing. Don't tell Kurama about this."

Mao's brows furrowed with confusion.

"Why not? Wouldn't you want him to be cheering for you?"

A deep blush rose to Yui's cheeks. She quickly turned away, clapping her palms against her face to hide her noticeable blush.

"He would be a distraction." Yui answered shortly.

"Well, alright. If you insist." She brushed past her sister and grabbed her school bag at the bottom of the stairs. "Now hurry up or we'll be late."

* * *

Kurama thought is curious when Yui ducked away from him on more than one occasion. Her face was scorching red whenever she accidentally glanced his way.

Unfortunately, she couldn't run away for long. His name was lucky enough to be drawn to help her make up for her six month absence. They had their free period at the same time. But, he didn't think she needed much tutoring.

"This is all that I missed?" Yui closed the math text book and moved onto history.

"Did you understand the materials? You went through the questions pretty quickly." He glanced at the homework she had passed unto him across the table.

Yui didn't bother to glance up from the text. Her eyes were glued to the black and white page. He was amazed at how fast her eyes scanned the first chapter and then moved onto the next one.

"You have botany. I have mathematics and physics. I have to entertain myself somehow." She said simply.

"You do math problems for fun?" Even Kurama wasn't that studious.

"Sometimes. Mostly I pass the time doing Sudoku puzzles. Did you know that some studies show that the lack of variety in brain activity leads to comprised mental health in later years?"

"No, I did not."

"Considering that women tend to live longer, I'd say I have some time before me. If I don't act quickly, my brain will slip into entropy, and then I would be useless to my uncle." She spit out the last part as if mentioning her uncle put poison on her tongue.

"More importantly," she continued. "I'm the kind of person who needs stimulation. My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work."

"You're a very hard worker. It's no wonder that you come in third every test." Kurama complimented but he felt too distracted by just watching her read. "How fast can you read?"

"It's not so much reading as it is skimming. I don't normally do this, but I am in a bit of a crunch time. They've given me a month to make up for my missing work."

"A month?" Kurama couldn't help but be insulted. A month to make up for missing half a year? That was beyond normal procedures.

"Well," Yui paused as if to remember the incident. "They thought that it would be best to hold me back so I could make it up properly, but then I offered them a deal that I could make up everything in month. They thought I couldn't do it. In turn, I shall have to prove them wrong, won't I?"

Yui finally looked up from her book. She was smirking. Kurama might have imagined there was a twinkling in her eye, though he could have been wrong. He chuckled. He couldn't help it. When he looked to see Yui's confident face had changed into one of confusion, Kurama cleared his throat.

"How far are you in history?"

Yui turned the book around and passed it towards him.

"I just finished chapters twelve through fifteen. You can quiz me on those."

"You read them so fast," Kurama wondered aloud.

"I only read the information that I thought would be useful."

"I see. Where did you learn that?"

"Sherlock Holmes. I read a lot of Western novels and short stories. Sherlock Holmes is one of the best detective stories. His powers of deduction are highly underrated."

Kurama almost pinched himself. Yui was so focused on her studies that she hadn't yet realized that she was slipping incredibly personal information about herself. This was one of the few times she was vulnerable. He said not a word or made a sound. He didn't even make eye contact with her lest the moment would vanish into thin air.

* * *

_Just breathe._ Yui repeated the mantra over and over in her head. It was a more like a prayer really.

Her hands were shaking. The uniform she managed to smuggle out of the house, her mother's old, traditional kendo uniform, short-sleeved yukata and simple black hakama, was making her sweat in places she didn't know had the glands for. Yui nervously pulled at the collar of the yukata. She licked her lips constantly, occasionally chewing on her lip, now bruised. She glanced down at the bench full of other competitors. When she glanced, they stared back at her. There was at least one or two feet that separated her from the others, and not by her choice either. Once they saw her making her way over, the rest of them scooted up until they couldn't move any further. They would rather smoosh themselves together like a sandwich rather than sit close to her. On any other day, Yui would have lost all hope and gone home. She had to reach deep, deep, _deep_ inside herself to root herself to the spot where she sat. Yui almost tempted to freeze her ankles where she sat but then thought better. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Mao sitting in the bleachers. She was checking her phone but then Mao raised her head. She waved and Yui waved back.

The small little comfort did little to quiet the unsettling uneasiness in the pit of Yui's stomach. Her stomach was tossing and churning like a ship lost at sea in the middle of a horrible storm. The outcome looked bleak. Face public embarrassment by trying out or humiliate herself now by running away with her tail between her legs. Decisions, decisions. One by one the contestants pulled their arrows and their mark, some better than others. You could blame the sun getting in yours eyes or a speck of dust. You could suddenly lose your nerve. You could trip. You could come up with any excuse that you wanted but if you missed you were out. The try outs started with thirteen contestants, including Yui. And half an hour later, five remained. Yui narrowly missed the center the first time; she was too jittery to concentrate. The fact that she hit the center ring at all was a miracle. She had never done this before. According to her instructors, she was a natural, however that was most likely flattery. Being the heir-presumptive made it difficult to tell the earnest compliments from the heartless flatteries. Even so, even if Yui was a natural that didn't mean she was necessarily that best.

Yui almost laughed at herself. She was a dragon, a living, breathing dragon, though she hadn't gotten her scales yet. Here she was worrying about getting on a high school archery team when she should be worried about the demon from the well that she never found or meeting up to her uncle's standards.

She stopped to think about that last one. I mean, really think about it. Before any of this happened, would she have been better off not knowing any of it. The power certainly wasn't going to her head. Yui derived no pleasure from having servants and bodyguards and having almost every wished granted because you were royalty. Call her old-fashioned if they must, but Yui preferred gaining her power on her own terms. She only agreed to train for half a year in the Land of Eternal Winter so that the next time she faced Fuyuki, the latter wouldn't be getting away so easily. Or at all if the mood was just right.

"I'm not going to call your name again, Kagami! Get over here if you want to finish try outs!" The captain of the team was more like an army general. Yui heard vicious rumors about her, and they seemed pretty truthful at this point.

"Eh?" Yui had barely been startled out of her daydream when team captain Akane Fujioka called her out.

"I said get over here or you're disqualified! Could I be any clearer than that?"

The four on the bench burst out in stifled giggles. Yui stood up, consciously aware that they were laughing at her. She swallowed hard, closed her eyes, and tried to imagine that she was somewhere else. Anywhere else. After a brief moment of meditation, Yui rolled her shoulders back. She stepped forward.

"Do I need to remind you of the rules as well? You have to shoot better than the last guy or equal to the shot. If you miss, you're out." Akane barked.

"I understand," Yui drew her bow. The arrow felt heavier than before.

"How could she shoot better than me?" It was Hikaru Ikeda. A noted bully. Yui knew his face all too well.

She lined up her shot. Her eyes were a lot better than theirs; she had that advantage. The only way to shut them up, especially Ikeda was to show them that the proof was in the pudding. In this case, the pudding was Yui' own skills with the bow and arrow. Six months could hardly compare with the possible years of training the others went through, but considering the conditions she practiced in they would have paled in comparison. The wind in the human realm was much easier to deal with than the constant ones that threatened to turn into disastrous snow storms that would swallow you whole if you were dumb or reckless enough. The sun wasn't so bright now that it wasn't bouncing off virgin snow.

"Hikaru-kun." Yui seethed.

"Yeah, what?" The boy growled back.

"Do shut up."

She let the arrow fly. The arrow sang as it flew. Just before firing, Yui made a couple of adjustments. Calculations went off in her head. She measured the field to the closest possible digit. She angled the bow and arrow accordingly, and waited for the proper moment to strike the blow to Hikaru Ikeda's ego. If she waited a second longer, the trajectory would have been thrown off completely. The outcome turned out just as her expectations were hoping for.

The arrow sang before its song was interrupted by a painted wood target. Well, that would just be humility talking. It wasn't just the target she hit. Hikaru's arrow was split in two by Yui's undeniably perfect shot. The arrow was nothing more than shattered bits of twigs, broken just like Hikaru's overconfident pride. Jaws hung open. They hadn't expected that. Hikaru quickly shut his mouth though his ears were burning red.

Captain Akane cleared her throat.

"That'll be all, ladies and gentlemen. I'll speak with the other members of the team and deliberate in the morning. You'll find the results posted tomorrow afternoon. Have a good day." Whether or not Captain Akane was even somewhat impressed by Yui's almost impossible shot, that matter was up in the air. They were dismissed and if they lingered more than necessary, forget making the team. They'd be worried about missing Akane's own arrows. Rumor had that she never missed and that she even practiced on moving targets.

"Good luck," one of the girls giggled.

"You're going to need it, Yuki-Onna."

Oh how she hated that nickname. Yui rolled her eyes while she had her back towards them and started making her way across the field. Mao ran to meet her. The smaller girl wrapped her arms around Yui's waist.

"That was so awesome." Mao released and then started miming the whole scene. "He was like, 'Ha,ha, how's she going to hit the target?' And you were like, 'Bitch please.' _Phew! _And _you_ not only hit the bull's eye, you made his puny little stick fall apart right down the middle!"

"I'm so glad I have at least one fangirl."

"And it looks you might have a fanboy too!" Mao giggled. She pointed towards what lay at Yui's back.

If it was possible to have the color in her cheeks both drain and then rise again from the dead to spread a heat wave across the rest of her face, it probably just did. Kurama hopped over the fence and had started running towards them. Yui ducked behind her sister, though that appeared more comedic than useful as she had grown several inches taller than Mao. Hiding behind her was be completely and truly pointless.

"Hey, _Shuichi_," Mao was careful not to say his real name at school. It took some practice but she got that hang of it now.

"What was that?" Was the first thing that fell from his lips. What else could he be thinking? He looked at the archery team moving the equipment to make room for the baseball team to have their practice.

"Yui here was just trying out for the archery team." Mao forced Yui to the front to face her fears.

"Archery? I didn't realize you were so proficient with a bow and arrow. Your training must have been very good."

"W-with my uncle and grandmother breathing down my neck, it was hard to make mistakes. I'm just…gonna go now. If you'll excuse me—"

Mao, unfortunately, grabbed her by the back of her collar. Yanking her back to her side, Mao showed off her sister like a prize to be won.

"Oh, I'd say that my sister is _very_ skilled. Split a guy's arrow in two. I even got it on my camera."

"Mao!" Yui's blush threatened to overheat her already flustered brain.

"You said nothing about filming. Besides, Mom's going to find out eventually. Might as well show her proof that you actually have an excuse to leave the house besides figure skating every Sunday and bookstore every third Saturday."

"I-I got out!" It might have been said that Yui was highly offended. But that would be stretching the truth, wouldn't it.

"Name one," Mao stopped Yui from answering, "And no, getting kidnapped doesn't count."

Yui looked at Kurama for defense, but he wisely kept his mouth shut. Throwing her bow down, Yui threw her hands in the air.

"I give up. I'm going to change back into my uniform." She stormed off.

* * *

The lockers lay beyond the track field, a stone block and stood at the farthest end of the campus. Yui walked right in because nobody else was there. Her enhanced sense of smell told her so. Earlier, she stuffed her things in one of the few lockers that didn't have a lock attached to it. Pulling it open with a loud metallic _clang_, she was just that infuriated and embarrassed, Yui checked that all of her belongings were where she left them. Satisfied, she reached for the knot holding up the hakama. Her fingers just barely grazed the fabric of the knot when her nose caught a whiff of something suspicious. Yui whipped around just as the locker room door swung open. A familiar-looking young man had the audacity to enter. Hikaru looked like she had just insulted his ancestors. Yui spent a lot of time just observing people. She knew what most facial expressions looked like and what they meant. There was no way she could not know what the disgust on his face meant.

"Excuse me, but this is the _girl's_ locker room. I suggest you leave before I call security. More importantly, how did you sneak in here? My sister Mao and Shuichi are practically standing outside the door."

She didn't like this. She watched him move back. Yui almost sighed with relief; she thought he was going to make his prompt and much needed exit. Her hopes were shattered when he turned the lock to the door. The deadly click echoed in the near-empty chamber, resonating deep into her bones. Hikaru's glaring eyes bore down on her. Yui glared back. There used to be a time when she would have quickly cowered in the furthest corner and tried to hide. But there were a couple of things Hikaru didn't know about the new Yui Kagami. One, she had seen things that were a lot less intimidating than he was. And two, she wasn't the kind of woman anymore who would hide and cower. Not anymore.

"I liked you a whole lot better when you were just the pathetic little bookworm who hid herself in the library. It's amazing what six months can do to a girl, ain't that right, _Yuki-Onna_?"

Yui had to fight not to correct him, but he wouldn't understand the significance of her proper title.

"If you don't unlock that door and leave, Ikeda, I will make you regret it."

"By doing what?" He sneered. "Gonna cry? Run away with your tail between your legs? I admit, if it was your sister, I'd take the threat more seriously but since it's you, I don't there's going to be a problem in that department."

"I beg your pardon?" Yui believed that she had just been insulted.

"I've seen you around. All twigs and no meat."

Suddenly, Hikaru was on top of her, caging her to the metal lockers before she blinked. The familiar circumstances had Yui's heart racing. It was beating so loud that she could feel every artery and vein throbbing with trepidation. His breath was at her neck causing bile to rise in her throat. She imagined his skin turning gray, covered with black tattoos. Yui blinked and the illusion was gone. Hikaru Ikeda was just a normal human boy. This wasn't necessary. She didn't have to put up with this. She could fight back. All it would take was one little shove. Extra super powers would be unneeded and unnecessary in this situation. She wouldn't have to risk revealing her true self.

Then why…Then why did Yui's body freeze up? Why couldn't she lift even her pinky to stop him? Why was her body shaking uncontrollably? Yui could fight back but why wasn't she?

"At least you used to be. You filled out quite nicely, I'll admit." Hikaru's hand placed itself on top of her collar bone just barely poking out from the yukata. "Whatever the hell you were doing while you were gone did wonders for your body."

Yui audibly swallowed hard. It was the only thing she could do. Her eyes glazed over, unblinking, she stared at the wall beyond Hikaru's shoulder.

This couldn't be happening. Not again.

Hikaru leaned in a little further. His lips were against her throat now. Nearly jumping out of her skin, Yui tried to crawl up the wall, drawing in a long, jagged breath. Her brain was fumbling for options, a plan of attack but she couldn't even remember to breathe let along think. His miss was like acid on her skin. Those poisoned lips traced the artery along her the side of her neck, his disgusting tongue dragging across her flesh. A trail of saliva and tiny bite marks set her skin on fire. A displeasing shudder rocked Yui from the base of her spine and stabbed every nerve ending. Her flesh prickled as goosebumps formed all over.

He kissed the juncture of her neck and shoulder, then chuckled.

"Whatever happened to that other white-haired freak? Did he dump you?"

Yui felt like somebody had sucker punched her in the gut. She couldn't breathe. The cloying scent of danger was choking her. The control she had worked so hard to gain was slipping. She couldn't practically see her breath turning into icy mist escaping from her dry, chapped lips.

"First, Shuichi then what's-his-face? I had no idea how much of a slut you were, Yui Kagami. Is that your dirty little secret? Innocent-looking bookworm gets off on having more than one partner. Dear gods, that's such a cliché it's not even funny." Hikaru bit down where the shoulder met her neck and suckled hard.

Reality was slipping away from her. Yui imagined she was elsewhere because she couldn't stand the thought of imagining this happening to somebody else, even if they weren't real. She screwed her eyes shut and tried to escape.

Hikaru clamped his fingers around her jaw, squeezing his fingers until he pried her mouth open. Yui unwillingly snapped her eyes open in time to see him plant a kiss on her lips. Tears threatened to expose her. It took every ounce of her strength to not give in to the burning, prickling sensation building in her eyes or to give into Hikaru's sick desires. His tongue toyed with hers as if trying to coax it forward. It scraped against the inside of her gums, inside her cheeks, and licked her teeth. She watched in horror as he cracked open his eyes, narrowed like snakes and equally dangerous. There was nothing more dangerous than a man who was so full of hatred and bitterness, except one who had the addition of carnivorous lust fueling his actions. Yui very nearly cried out loud. She suddenly felt all of her blood drain south into her legs. It was too bad that she wouldn't have been able to stop her knees from knocking into each other so much in order to make a run for it.

When Hikaru finally released her mouth, he grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head. He looked at her as something worse than a piece of meat to a starving man. If looks could kill, Yui would have been a pile of bones and dust.

"Even so, you look just like your sister." Hikaru whispered, venom filling her ear. "And I guess, you're hot in your own right. However, you think you're so freaking perfect that you can't bring yourself down to talk to us little people, is that it?"

Yui furiously shook her head.

"N-no! That's not it at all!"

Hikaru's dark chuckle sent cold shivers down her spine, like he ran a knife down her spine and severed all of the nerves to be found there.

"Of course you would say that!" He spat.

"Because it's the truth!"

The look in Hikaru's eyes silenced her. Yui bit her lip until it bled and droplets of red dribbled down her chin. Hikaru leaned forward again, this time to lick up the blood from chin and lips.

"You keep telling yourself that. Maybe if I'd known sooner just how easy you actually were, I wouldn't have wasted my time trying to get some from your sister. I don't know who's more of tease, you or your sister."

Yui snarled.

"Don't talk about my sister like that."

At a sudden turn of events, Hikaru looked excited. His eyes sparkled with a new desire.

"Suddenly have a back-bone, do we? I suppose Mao is just another good girl, even if she doesn't mean to be such a tease. You, on the other hand, walk around like you could do nothing wrong. You play so innocent but I already know what you've been up to. You play the part of the perfect student, the kind nobody would suspect, and then you lure them with your innocence. I've seen that trick so many times, I know how to spot it. That little stunt you pulled earlier with splitting my arrow. I don't care how you did it. I don't care if you're better than me. I don't care about that. But I'm still going to repay you for embarrassing me like that."

"I-I'll scream. I'll scream until my lungs burst if that's what it takes. Mao and Shuichi will hear, I promise you."

Hikaru laughed in her face.

"The walls are at least twenty-five centimeters thick. They would have to have superhuman hearing to hear you scream." He gloated.

He was right. Yui's bluffing skills needed some serious work. It was a vain, not to mention useless, line of defense. The windows were locked, sealed, and barred. The stone walls were too thick as was the locked door. Hikaru had successfully sealed them both inside. Yui could just use her powers and subdue him. But her body wouldn't let her, even if she wasn't afraid of revealing her true self. She was shaking all over. There was no way to stop it.

There was no way to stop _this _from happening.

He sank his lips on hers again and forced fed her his tongue.

A warm hand crawled under the yukata. Hikaru's fingers were splayed on top her shoulder, inching slowly, slowly, slowly down.

* * *

"Excuse me." Captain Akane interrupted their conversation.

"Akane-senpai, what's up?"

"Did you see Ikeda go over to the locker room?"

Kurama and Mao both shook their heads.

"I just saw him storm over there after Yui went in. Are you sure you didn't see him?"

The color drained from Mao's face.

"He walked over there…after Yui?"

"After the miracle she performed, I would be mad too. Then again, I'm not so petty as to—Hey where you going? I was talking to you over here!"

Mao had already sprinted across the field. Kurama was in hot pursuit not far behind her. To her horror the girl's locker room door was locked shut.

"It won't open!" Mao banged her fist against the heavy door until it left dark bruises on the side of her hand. "Yui! Yui! Can you hear me?"

"Let me see it." Kurama gently but hastily pushed Mao out of the way in order to break the lock. The tumbler took longer than he liked to push aside but when it finally cracked open, he could have sighed with relief. A gust of wind that tasted like fear greeted his senses and punched him in the gut. Mao pushed him to the side, running in first. He followed suit.

There was Yui, huddled in the corner, face buried in her hands. He heard little tinkling sounds as beads of icicles fell from her eyes and hit the concrete floor. Hikaru Ikeda lay on the floor, unconscious by the looks of it but Kurama couldn't be sure. He kneeled over the body, checked for a pulse, and tried to hold himself together.

"He's unconscious." He said, biting back the urge to kick the already unconscious boy where it would hurt the most.

"Yui," Mao's legs could barely hold her up. "Yui, speak to me! Please. What happened? Speak to me!"

She stumbled over towards her sister sitting on the floor, rocking back and forth with her arms tight around her chest. Falling to her knees, Mao took Yui by the shoulders. She gasped at what she saw.

There were kiss marks, several of them, marring Yui's white throat. Her top had been shuffled aside. The upper part of her chest had been exposed. You could almost see the sports bra she was wearing underneath. As the icy tears trickled their way down Yui's cheeks, Mao couldn't imagine the horrors her sister was about to go through all over again. She wrapped her arms firmly around Yui and hid her face so nobody could see the tears. Yui didn't say anything, that is if she could at all. She sat there, staring at the floor.

"What the he—" Akane finally made her appearance known. "Is that, is that Ikeda? Is he alright?"

"He's unconscious. I can only assume the worst." Kurama spat. His knuckles were turned white as he clenches his fists tight at his sides.

"He…tried to…" Akane covered her mouth as if she couldn't finish her own sentence. "I'll go grab a teacher. Sit tight."

* * *

Mrs. Kagami was barely paying attention to what the police officer was saying.

Blah, blah, blah, your daughter, Yui, blah, blah, sexual assault, blah, blah, blah, school.

It seemed so unrealistic. It had to be somebody else's kid, not that she would actually wish something like that upon somebody else's kid. It just seemed so wrong and out of place. Just when things were starting to settle down, returning to normal, this, _this_ happened while her back was turned.

"What happened to the boy?" She spotted her sword resting on top of the mantelpiece. Waiting, wanting, needing revenge and bloodshed. It was almost too tempting and too dangerous to leave a weapon out in the open where she could get her hands on it and find the little vermin that tried to lay his hands on her daughter.

"He's in the hospital. Your daughter managed to push him away but he fell and hit his head on solid concrete. He'll pull through but once he's awake, we'll be pressing charges."

"You're damn right to be pressing charges! I oughta have the kid's head served to me on a platter!" It took everything she had not to set something on fire. Pyromania tended to run on her side of the family no thanks to a certain fire-breathing dragon that just couldn't keep it in his pants.

"I know, I know how frustrating this is for you, Mrs. Kagami, but I need you to stay calm." Officer Shizumu attempted to have Mrs. Kagami settle back down into the couch. She seized his hand with a vice grip he didn't know of a woman, or a man for the matter, who could have been stronger than hers.

"Do you have daughters, Officer?" Mrs. Kagami seethed.

"Sons only, ma'am."

"Then you don't know what it's like to hear from a police officer that your daughter was _sexually assaulted_. You, as a man, will likely never know what it's like to be violated. My daughter was nearly raped on her school campus so don't you dare tell me to stay calm!"

Yui clamped her hands over her ears and waited for the police to leave. The strung-out, heavy energy was so strong, she could taste it on her tongue. Her wet hair clung to her trembling shoulders. She sat on the floor of her bedroom, back against her bed, and her knees drawn up to her chest. Mao sat beside her, arms wrapped snugly around her as they shared a blanket together. Just like when they were little kids. Her sister was just as awake as she was. They clung onto each other for dear life.

"Leaves from the vine…falling so slow. Like tiny fragile shells, drifting in the foam. Little soldier boy, come marching home. And little soldier boy, comes marching home." Mao sang under breath, which Yui could barely hear because she had muffled the sounds. Their mother had been spending the better part of the evening yelling at the police officers who had dropped them off. After their visit to the station to start on the paperwork, filing charges. Mao didn't let go of her sister's hand except to let Yui use the bathroom and shower.

She tried to wash herself clean but the scent of him still clung like a thick layer of mud she could never hope to wash away.

Nobunaga snuggled against her other side, his large head in her lap. His great, big yellow eyes looked up at her as if he knew her pain. He occasionally pressed his cold, wet nose against her palm. Yui's lips were sealed tight like she had super-glued them together.

Those nine months of hard training, swirling down the drain…

Worse than feeling unclean, Yui felt something boiling up inside. For an ice dragon, she felt incredibly hot. She was burning up inside like she had eaten fire. Fists clenched with rage, knuckles blanched and hard as stone, Yui had to take deep breaths just to calm herself down. With her sister and pet at her side, she couldn't, or rather shouldn't startle them. If only they knew, if only they knew the raw edged sword being forged inside of her. She felt undeniably dirty, and there was only one way to wash herself clean from this humiliation.

She needed to find a replacement to take out her frustrations on.

* * *

Kurama couldn't fight the urge to kill, to kill mercilessly, ruthlessly, without care and without thought. Murder was a six letter word tattooed on his brain. But the root of this uncharacteristic malice was out of his reach. He was clear-headed enough not to charge into the hospital and make a bloody mess of Hikaru Ikeda. Besides the fact that the authorities already had the situation under control.

But still, that didn't solve his current _problem_.

It was a simple task for him to sneak out of the house after his human mother had gone to bed. She would be none the wiser. If he lied down in bed, all he would be doing was festering in his rage and anger and murderous desires. Most of all, he hated himself. He had been standing not so far away. He let himself be distracted and therefore arrived too late. Yui was able to defend herself; she was so much stronger than she believed herself to be. Still, he couldn't protect her from the horrible pain that only a monster could inflict upon a woman. And it wasn't the first time, he suspected. That night in the cave, though Yui had kept certain events to herself, he wasn't so blind to not see the little tell-tale signs of assault. She had been damaged and scarred more in spirit than in flesh. To let her suffer like that a second time was inexcusable on his part. He should have been more aware of his surroundings.

A group of low-level demons lay at his feet. A bloodied mess of flesh torn to strips and ribbons hanging off emaciated bodies, faces contorted in their final agonies before their spirits fled to a place where Kurama could no longer hurt them. Hell, it would seem, would have been a much better place than the Land of the Living. Kurama leaned against the brick wall at his back, catching his breath. It wasn't that he had wasted that much energy on such low-lives; honestly, it didn't take him long at all. A few short minutes after stumbling upon them in the darkened alley and they were as good as dead the second he stepped into their territory. His rose-whip sprang into action. Furious thorns were already busy hacking and slicing his enemies while his mind was elsewhere, unlike him in a battle. The haunting image of icicles rolling down her cheeks as the deepest sense of terror etched into her crystal blue eyes as the dark pupils constricted. It was the worst kind of agony he was forced to endure watching her suffer in that manner.

"Ahem?" A woman cleared her throat.

Kurama slowly turned around. The two bodyguards Akio sent, Wakane and Miu, didn't appear as they normally would. Dressed head to toe in more modern fashion, they didn't stand out nearly as much with their clothes and black-haired wigs. Their rough mannerisms, pale skin, blue eyes, and abnormal height still made them easy to spot in the crowd. The elder of the two, Wakane, looked at the carnage at his feet, and without even batting an eyelash she continued.

"We just got back from the other side of the portal. Lady Satsuki sends her regards."

"Thank you." Kurama replied shortly.

"How does she fair? Yuki-Hime?" Wakane's tone almost startled him. It was cold and steely, not what you would expect from a bodyguard whose job it was to keep their charge safe from all manner of harm. When he listened closely he could hear the desperate tone of restraint holding her back. Ice dragons were not known for their outward display of emotion. But one quick glance at her, and he was convinced that the stereotype wasn't always right.

Wakane's fangs were protruding from her gums, begging to tear something apart. The dark pupils in her eyes were serpentine and constricted. From her shoulders down, she was tense, rigid, forcing herself to hold back.

Miu, on the other hand, displayed what one might expect in a caring servant. Her brows were furrowed and wrinkles etched themselves into the young woman's forehead.

"How is she?" Miu asked.

"She will," Kurama paused. "Be better. Eventually."

"I see you've taken out your frustrations already." Wakane motioned towards the dead bodies lying in pools of blood.

"Yes, well, I—"He couldn't quite bring himself to say what was already true and plain as day. One would have to be blind in order not to see what was going on.

"There's no need to explain." Wakane started. "I can only blame myself. We were careless. This whole time we were supposed to protect Yuki-Hime from the dangers of the Demon World following her and threaten the safety of the headsman's line of succession. I was so _stupid _to think that I could trust a measly fox to even keep her safe from some disgusting human!"

"Wakane!" Miu glanced at Kurama. "I'm sorry. I'm sure she didn't mean it! Right, Wakane?"

"Don't even bother!" Wakane raised her voice. "You know I meant it and I'm not taking it back. If he couldn't even protect her from some human, then what can he do to protect her from stronger forces, uh? We should be thankful that she managed to save herself before something worse could have happened!" She turned on her heel, storming away.

"See here, Wakane!" Miu was about to catch up with her, but Wakane disappeared seemingly into thin air. She sighed heavily, the wrinkles in her forehead becoming wider as well as deeper. She rubbed her temples with her hands before turning her attention back to Kurama.

"I'm sorry about that. She feels guilty. That's all. Even if we were there, I'm not sure what we could have done. We have our orders not to draw attention and we wouldn't have bothered to watch one single human so closely. Please, understand that at least I don't blame you for what happened."

"That's…very encouraging, Miu. Thank you." He grimaced.

"We haven't told Lord Akio, if you're curious."

His brows furrowed.

"Why not?"

Miu bowed her head. "After all the hard work, Yuki-Hime put into her training, observing our rituals, learning all that she could, what do you think her uncle would say if he found out that she was almost raped by a human a matter of days returning to her home in the human world?"

Kurama said nothing in reply.

"He would be furious. Embarrassed. Humiliated. He would take it out on her and force her to move. I'm still not quite sure why she would to stay in the human world when the Land of Eternal Winter is much more suited for her body, but it would be too cruel to tear her away from her mother and sister and the friends she's come to know. It would tear the poor the girl apart. Frankly, I don't care what he would have done to me and Wakane, but I won't see her suffer because of our lack of judgement!"

"He would have you punished?"

Miu nodded, frozen tears starting to crackle at the corner of her eye.

"Lord Akio is strict. He would have found any excuse to punish us for not following our orders. The only thing he probably couldn't do is order an execution. I would like to think that Lady Satsuki would stay his hand."

"Does Yui's grandmother really hold that much power over him?"

She nodded again.

"Lady Satsuki holds the title of Lady of the North. It's like being a queen except the queen, in this case, is never the wife as many headsmen have had multiple partners. The family of the headsman are descendants of our matriarch, so it stands to reason that the heir must be a descendent of her, the first Lady of the North."

"I see."

Miu looked over her shoulder, nervously.

"I have to go and find Wakane. We both should head back over to the house. Yuki-san must be wondering where we are right now."

"Be safe," Kurama waved.

"Thanks. You as well, Yoko Kurama."

* * *

"_To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy. Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it…._"

The bus lurched as it came to yet another stop. Yui looked up from her book to look at the boarding passengers. She quickly hid her face behind a familiar set of faces boarding. Except she forgot one little thing that used to be such a stable in her life. Her wig.

"Yui?" Yusuke plopped down in the seat next to her. "What are you doing here?"

"I was…I wasn't feeling very well today. I was going to go out for a little day trip. To clear my head. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, same as you! Nothing important." Botan piped in as she and Kuwabara snagged the seats behind them.

Yui could hear the rise and fall of her words, being able to pick out with her newfound hearing the stressed words which Botan was unable to hide. In other words, by her pitch alone, Botan had given herself away. Yui shut her book and raised her brow.

"No, really, what are you doing?"

The three of them looked at each other.

"What? It's not as if I'm going to tell anyone. What could you possibly be holding back that telling me would be so detrimental?"

* * *

"Spirit Sword!"

Yui watched passively as Kuwabara hacked his way through another demon.

"Ah, I see. So it's a rescue mission. Why didn't you just tell me that in the first place?" She wondered aloud.

"We couldn't exactly tell you on a bus full of people, could we?" Yusuke fired a shot from his spirit gun, the 'bullet' passing through the chest of a barrel-chested brute with blood red skin stretched taut over sinewy muscles.

"Fair point."

"Why are you here anyway?" Yusuke had turned to face her.

"I had nothing better to do. Might as well lend a hand."

"Doesn't it feel strange though?" He asked.

"What feels strange?"

"Being on the other end of a rescue mission." He smirked, joking.

Yui glared at him.

"You're never going to let that go, are you?"

"Not on your life, _princess_." Yusuke chuckled. He reached over and tusseled Yui's hair.

Pouting, she had to walk along the dirt path and fix her hair so it didn't like such a rat's nest when he was through with it.

"Yukina! Your hero is coming to rescue you!"

Admiring his enthusiasm, Yui couldn't help but feel that she was the normal one. Botan was too bubbly for most people and Yusuke, well to be honest there wasn't very much to work with in that department but surely there had to be something there. Nobody could be completely normal. Everybody had to be weird in their own particular way.

"He hasn't even met the girl and he's proclaiming his undying love for her. _Thus is winged Cupid painted blind_, I suppose."

Yui wasn't sure of what to do with herself besides hang back and make sure Botan wasn't hurt. The boys seemed to have the situation taken care of. It wasn't that she doubted it. By the number of bodies they were dropping, Yusuke and Kuwabara had the upper hand. One by one, or two by two, demons were slain. The puny humans hadn't even broken a decent sweat yet. Yui had offered her help, if only to get the raging need to dismantle something out of her system (under the guise of actually wanting to help out of the kindness of her heart). That is not to say she didn't want to help the poor girl. Call it empathy that drove Yui further on without much care for her own needs. The scars on her back were itching like mad. Subconsciously, Yui reached her right hand over to touch the opposite shoulder.

"Is there something wrong, Yui?"

Botan noticed her. Yui quickly withdrew her hand.

"Oh." She started, putting on a brave face though she was certain that even a little worry was still perfectly displayed on her face, bright and clear as day. "It's nothing. I'm fine."

"This is probably hitting pretty close to home. How have you been sleeping since, you know?"

Yui looked down and away. She thought about her answer long enough for Botan to get the idea. She patted the girl on the shoulder.

"You don't have to talk about it yet if you don't want to. Though," Botan paused. "It may help you if you talk to someone. These kinds of things shouldn't be locked away for too long. If need someone to talk to…"

"Will you two hens quit your clucking and get over here! I see the mansion!" Yusuke interrupted.

The two of them saw him pulling back tree branches for them. Catching up with Kuwabara was easier said than done. The boy would beat any Olympic champion as long as the girl Yukina was on the other end of the finish line. Yui, because her bones were heavier than everyone else's, lagged behind. She had trouble keeping up with them as they dashed inside, like epic heroes searching for the princess in the evil warlord's castle, and forced to chase after them once they burst through the front entrance. Strategically a stupid mood, but this wasn't the time to argue or point out that barging through the front door was not a smart idea. Even if she could catch up with them, Yusuke was in battle-mode. Apparently, Yui came to discover, this made everything she said go in one ear and out the other. It wasn't until they ran into a giant red ogre did he even stop.

"Two humans, a woman, and an ice maiden? They're pulling out all the stops aren't they?"

Yui's eye twitched.

"I'm sorry. What did you call me?"

"Eh? Did the _Yuki-Onna _asked me question? Speak up!" The thing chuckled, sinister-looking fangs poking out of beet-red gums.

"I said, what did you just call me?" Agitation was building up and up. This demon pushed just the right button. Here she was thinking she wouldn't see any kind of action. It took everything she had not to charge already.

The demon straight up laughed in her face. Spittle streamed down his lips like she had said something funny.

"Hold on. We've got this." Yusuke and Kuwabara stepped forward.

"No, no. I've got this. He's _mine_." Yui turned to Botan. "Do you still have that water bottle?"

Botan riffled through the bag on her shoulder.

"Um, here you go." She handed it over.

"Thank you." Yui pushed past the boys, unscrewing the top as she did so. "Allow me."

"What are you gonna do with that? Offer him a drink?" Yusuke quipped, not realizing the plan Yui already put into motion.

"Not quite." She emptied the entire bottle's contents down her throat. She dribbled a little bit down her chin. When the ogre was done, he stopped and stared, wondering what she could be doing. Just what sort of plan was going through her head?

The plastic bottle was thrown to the floor when Yui finished the whole thing in one chug. Swallowing, she wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve. The whole time she kept eye contact. Her eyes never left his. Puckering her lips, Yui sucked in as much air as she could. Her cheeks expanded, giving her the appearance of a chipmunk. The ogre cracked another smirk. A deep guttural chuckle starting in his throat. His beefy hand reached for her, but that's just what she needed from him.

Yui released the air in her cheeks, however it wasn't mere air she was blowing. The surrounding area was filled up to the brim with her energy. Silver wind burst out in every direction as snowflakes fluttered, flew, and melted as soon as it hit the ground. Gusts of blistering, freezing winds erupted from her lips. The blast him squarely in the chest, knocking him out for good. By the time she stopped, he was finished. Nothing more than an icy statue frozen in time, the look of horror and dismay carved permanently into his already hideous features.

"Anybody feel that this was too easy?" Yui questioned as they ran down the corridor, headed for the 'boss room' as Kuwabara put it.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you think that defeating all of those demons was too easy? You went through like tissue paper, Yusuke. Please don't tell me that you're not the least bit concerned about that."

"You're thinking too much."

If one could taste irony, it was quite palatable on the tongue once they went through those thick doors. A giant chamber awaited them. Four stadium-sized screens, four gentlemen watching them like a bunch of old sports fans. The tiny hairs on the back of Yui's neck sprung up. She felt something, and it nauseated her.

The door behind them slammed shut, sealing them in with the brooding figure and the pale creature sitting on its shoulder.

"Dozens down." Kuwabara was overconfident. He cracked his knuckles and adjust the ridiculous headband he dawned at the beginning of their journey.

"Two to go." Yusuke finished, just as cocky.

On the other hand, Yui couldn't express the same level of ease and confidence. One look at their opponent, and she couldn't possibly be anywhere near as confident in winning as they were. They must not have been thinking properly. Her eyes could not just see how big he was, they could pierce through that thin veil that separated the natural from the supernatural, the things that lay just above normal, observable nature, high above it. How he moved, how he breathed, his gait was steady, relaxed even. The thing resting on his shoulders was a snickering, demented imp. His eyes were the same as the demon who put the scars on her back. Without thinking again, she reached around and touched her shoulder. The scars were burning up, prickling as she and the others edged closer towards their opponent. Her back felt like it was on fire. The heated sensation at her back forced her to remove the denim jacket she had been wearing the entire time and drop it to the ground.

Toguro was his name. That's what the wretched rat over the intercom called him.

Splotched with swirling red and black, his aura pooled around him like a cloak. It only grew bigger as he released more energy and prepared himself for battle. The thought that crept into her brain, further agitating her nervous system, was that this wasn't even a large fraction of his power. Toguro was holding back. Just how much made her shudder at the idea that he had more than enough to kill all four of them without skipping a beat. It was difficult for Yui not to think about the worst possible outcome.

The younger Toguro smirked. Yui swallowed hard. There was no way they could beat the brothers as easily as they beat the lesser demons. Those were just the appetizers. Toguro was the main course. It would take more than brawn to take down that wall of pure muscle.

Which was precisely why Yui stepped ahead of the rest.

"What are you doing?" Yusuke hollered reached for her, trying to pull her back.

Easily, Yui snatched her arm away from him.

"I may not have enough to defeat him on my own, but I have just enough to distract him. You two hang tight until I make him use up his energy. Then you and Kuwabara can go for the kill."

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" He barked.

Yui had only to glare at him, sending icy shivers down his spine. Her eyes were glowing like fireflies in the dark, bright and blue and intense. Her pupils were constricted into slits.

"I may not be able to beat them one on one, but I will serve a purpose. I'll weaken him. He'll use more energy on me and you two can finish him off once he's nearly at his end. You're human, Yusuke. I'm a dragon. I was born with ice in my veins. He won't break me so easily." Yui shoved him away and made her approach.

Head: throbbing.

Pulse: rapid.

Thoughts: running.

Yui met her opponents in the middle of the chamber. The taller brother loomed over her like one of the massive pine trees up north. Even behind his dark shades, Yui could feel his keen eyes sizing her up, piercing her through.

_No_! She thought. _I won't let him intimidate me. I won't lose to anyone again._

"You're going to fight me alone?" Toguro's deep, gruff voice felt like a burning knife down her back, severing bone from flesh and spinal cord from marrow.

She swallowed hard, and hoped that he didn't see how bad her fists were shaking at her sides.

"I am not adequate for you? Or do you have a preference for not fighting women?" She thought it was a miracle she could say that much without stammering. With some luck, that wasn't the only thing she could do right.

His deep-throated chuckle made her take a step back with her right foot. She steeled herself for an attack far too early it seemed.

"Not at all. In fact, I haven't fought a woman in a long time. This should be interesting."


	24. Chapter 24

"So happy to oblige." Yui quipped. On the inside, she was nothing more than a weeping puddle of goo. She had vastly improved her fighting style in six months, but what six months of training be enough to weaken this behemoth? He was much bigger up close and personal; the size of his aura notwithstanding. The best she could do was remember how to breathe.

"Nervous?"

She took a couple steps back. Bending over, she fiddled with her shoestrings. The laces were harder than she remembered. Then again, her hands were shaking so much that she could barely get the task done. Yui's only hope was that he didn't see it. The socks were stuffed inside the toes of the tennis shoes before they were promptly kicked out of the way. She faintly hear Yusuke wondering aloud why she would do such thing. Now that she had time to think about it, why did still have her jacket tied around her waist. This was discarded as well but it wasn't enough. Tying her hair up with the band worn about her wrist. Cracking her neck, swallowing up her emotions like she had so many times in the past, Yui braced herself for impact.

The younger Toguro's fist rammed right into her face, splattering bits of blood onto the ground. That twisted grin he wore when his over-sized fist made contact with her nose and the cartilage holding it together, forcing the tiny bones backward out of place, was enough to make bile rise in her throat. Her eyes were screwed tight as the force hit her at full throttle, and yet…yet it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. Thank the gods for being of the race of dragons with bones stronger than titanium. However, it still stung like the dickens. Raising her right hand, she pushed back against his fist. It felt so small compared to his and the great contrast between his warm flesh and hers let excited nerves course through her sensitive veins. Yui wasn't sure what was going on inside her body. Fight or flight response, maybe? The animal instinct to survive, perhaps. All she knew, which scared her because she didn't like not knowing a subject in its full context, was that this was all she needed to know to fight. Blood, pain, sweat, tears, that was all it took to make her understand. Every nerve in her body was suddenly alive with a burning, raging, freezing storm of electric life. A smirk, one that she had never used before, found its way into etching unto her face. Younger Toguro seemed surprised when she managed to pry his fist away. Her hand was tiny compared to his. Tiny, soft, and so frail-looking, this was the hand that somehow bested him, for the moment.

With her other hand, Yui pushed her nose back where it belonged. His punched push her nose eschew but it was easily fixed. The sudden motion stung and the biting pain shot right up into her brain, though it lasted for only a few short seconds.

"Not so much now, now that you mention it."

She could feel his cold hard glare trying to pierce through her beyond the darkened scope of his sunglasses. It wouldn't work. As a long-time professional in the art of reading people, Yui knew when someone was trying to read her. People, she learned through observation, could give away what they were just by the most minimum of gestures in body language. And if she was reading him correctly, the Toguro Brothers both looked pretty miffed that they didn't quite catch on. The elder was as menacing as before with those beady eyes trying to menace her. That wouldn't work either.

"That actually kind of hurt, though to be honest I've had worse." She droned.

"Oh really?" The younger replied. His older brother was too busy glaring at her to offer a retort of his own.

"My bones heal faster than you can break them, but you're more than willing to try." Yui found herself pushing the limit further than she either wanted or needed to go. She knew that she was crossing that distinctly fine line between feinted cockiness and trespassing into the very serious realm of delusion. She said so herself, she hadn't the power on her own to beat him one on one, so long as she still didn't get her scales. But before she could stop herself, her lips and tongue were wagging like mad dogs in heat. This was the line she didn't want to cross. Too much confidence would lead to an early grave. Especially when fighting these two brothers at once. It was far too early for her to start thinking about an early grave.

"You're no ice maiden." He observed. "You're a lot stronger than the one Mr. Terukane has in his possession. What business do you have here?"

"Let's just say I am against the kidnapping and torture of young women." Yui gritted through her teeth. He was starting to fight back. She could feel her feet sliding against the tiled floor.

"What are you?" He continued pushing her back like she was lighter than a feather. It was no challenge for him. This was the reason why she shouldn't have gotten cocky. Bad things happen. Bad things like _this _happen. Pride always comes before the fall.

"Oh," Yui bit her lower lip. Her heels were skidding against the floor now. "Just your garden variety dragon. But not of the fire-breathing sort."

The younger Toguro brother looked her up and down, sizing her up.

"An ice dragon, then?" His twisted grin returned. "Then I know just what to do with you."

His other fist rammed into her side. The force behind his second punch was enough to send her flying to the other side of the arena. Yui felt all of his power seeping through his arm in mere droplets when she knew full well that it could have rained down through him in a waterfall. That one punch made her realize two things: one, ow, and number two, he was holding back. A lot. Like a ridiculous amount. He had power coursing through him. He could have killed right there when he had the chance. Rip her horizontally. Force her ribs into her internal organs. But the best he could do in that moment was to send her flying across the room. Yui fell through linoleum, plaster, and a bit of concrete and tumbled onto her back. She choked on the cloud of plaster dust and she lay there in the debris.

Yui just lay there. Let the others think she was playing possum or that she had been knocked unconscious from that powerful blow. Either way, it might have suited her just fine if not for the horrifying notion that the Younger Toguro was playing with a full set of cards while Kuwabara and Yusuke were left empty-handed. Botan was utterly defensibly. She was a supporter not a fighter. Both of the Toguro's could tear them all apart, limb from limb. And it would all her fault.

What a wonderful time to have all of the nay-sayers chime in all at once in your head? The voices kept telling her that this was the end of her. She was going to lose. She was going to die. She might as well hand the throne over to Aunt Fuyuki on a silver platter because Yui was undeniably screwed. Closing her eyes, she waited for infinite oblivion.

When it never bothered to show up, Yui cracked one eye open. The older Toguro brother seemed to have vanished, but not without a trace. The remaining Toguro held a strange looking sword aloft in his hand. If she didn't move soon, Yui would find herself skewered on that sword.

Rising quickly, she dusted herself off. Stretching her back, her spine cracked and popped in several places. She could feel her bones realigning themselves with every stretch and strain.

"You seemed to have dislocated my third and fourth spinal disk, but I thought it would hurt a lot more." Yui straightened her back, grimacing at the sounds her bones made as they readjusted themselves. There was no way she was going to get used to that.

Toguro didn't wait for her bones to stop popping back into place. He charged head on, forcing her back into the wall. His fist rammed harder into her rib cage but not hard enough it seemed. Yui glared at him, grinding her teeth while she took one punch after another. It was a never-ending barrage of strikes, though she managed to grab unto his arm and dig into his flesh with her newly acquired claws. Her nails stuck in good. They raked down the length of Toguro's arms. Blood froze in ruby-colored icy veins up and down his arms. He gritted his teeth through the pain. Yui kept glaring.

_Is this honestly the best you can do?_ Toguro seemed to say.

A trickle of blood ran down the corner of her lips. It was pretty soon when she started coughing up blood. Just how long did it take for that to happen? Toguro's fist finally knocked all the air out of her lungs causing her to seize up and black out for a moment or two. He suddenly left her, probably to go start on Yusuke and Kuwabara. She hated herself. All of those months of training only for her wind up as a bleeding and bruised mess on a rich bastard's personal arena. By the gods, she could already hear her uncle's reprimanding speech about knowing her place ringing in her ear drums. She peered up to find Toguro nonchalantly walking away from her, bored.

Gritting her teeth, Yui started to get up despite Yusuke's calls to stay down. Her bones were cracking back into place again. She managed to get on her knees when a set of her ribs on the right side decided to crack and reform. The healing process was almost as bad as getting the broken ribs in the first place. For a second, Yui had to wonder which hurt more. Cradling her ribcage with her arm, she got to her feet, shaking a little from the effort but stood up on her own two feet. Her left eye had been swollen shut and visibility was thus limited. She spat a droplet of bloody saliva, grimacing through the pain to tread a little further.

"Did I say I was finished with you?"

The elder Toguro snickered. "This one seems to be a glutton for punishment."

Yui sneered at the impish man's irritating voice. "Oh do shut up."

Bending her own blood laying on the ground, a red scythe appeared in her hand. Not nearly as long as her usual one but there wasn't much to do about it now unless she was willing to spill more blood to make it longer. She charged without thinking things through properly. The elder had no trouble at all deflecting her blows. He was faster than she was. She couldn't make a single cut.

"No need to play with your food, Brother." The brute suddenly grabbed the blade and broke it into pieces like it was nothing more than tissue paper.

Yui didn't see much else after that. A stabbing pain greeted her. Blades were sticking into her shoulder, piercing through her flesh and pinning her to the floor. She slammed shut her eyes at the immediate onset of the pain only to peer at her wound a few seconds later.

So much of her blood was trickling out of the wound. Her eyes followed along the length of the strange blade, wondering where it came from. The elder brother with his beady eyes seemed all too thrilled have his twisted hand shoved into her flesh, churning and pulling in and out of her shoulder. Violating her.

Yui sucked air in through her nose. She glared at the little man pushing and pulling at her insides. Those cruel, beady eyes stared back at her and enjoyed the pain he produced. He chuckled at her agonized grunts of pain and seemed to love watch the blood drip from his mutated fingers. At long last, Yui grabbed her shoulder just as he sank his hand deeper.

"Hope you like frost bite." She sneered, freezing the blood in her shoulder.

Much to her horror, this only annoyed him. She could barely hear him yelp when her warm blood suddenly turned cold to the touch, giving him slight freezer burn. The blade retreated only for more to pierce through both arms and legs. Razor thin blades stabbed through her arms and legs, often narrowly missing the vital arteries and veins. But just barely. The torture was repeated over and over and over again. She figured because the elder brother didn't get the results he wanted. Meanwhile, in the not-so-far distance, his brother was busy dealing with her friends. It was better this way; they couldn't at least handle one rather than two at a time (she hoped).

* * *

Kurama clenched his fists as he watched from the shadows. Hiei wasn't to know his appearance. Not yet anyway. If he stormed out now to help her, Hiei would be aware of his presence and kill Terukane before Kurama could stop him.

She handled her first fight better than he could hope for. Sadly, Yui was a thinker not a fighter. Dragon or no, her nature didn't have the competitive, win-or-lose and die-trying mentality that was necessary to most fighters in either realm of existence. Her bones gave her some advantage. From what he'd been told, a fully grown ice dragon could withstand a mountain collapsing on top of it and survive with just a few scratches. Another disadvantage, Yui wasn't a full grown demon. Her bones were still malleable. They could break. They could put inhuman pressure on her internal organs. She would have to spend time snapping joints and other bones back into place while her opponent launched their next attack.

It felt like watching a massacre. A bloody, bloody massacre.

Yusuke and Kuwabara could handle themselves. They managed to survive this long. They were still alive after all. On the other hand, Yui was on the receiving end of the most damage. The elder brother was a text-book psychopath. He enjoyed causing pain. Yui's lack of screaming was the only thing keeping Elder Toguro from fully enjoying himself. The impish demon had the terrifying ability to turn his own body into a weapon. Many weapons. A sharp instrument of torture in his hand.

Kurama clung to the shadows, wishing that he could do something. This wasn't the world Yui had been meant to be thrown into. Yet, that wasn't true at all. This _was_ the world she had been born into. She was a true-blooded demon after all. Far more powerful than he was, a fox spirit trapped in a human's body. She had a better advantage than he did. And if what her grandmother said was true, then one day Yui would occupy the seat of power in the artic regions of the Makai. The demon world would have something to reckon with if she ever became physically strong enough to rule well. He didn't worry himself about the intellectual aspects of ruling; he knew better than anyone else that Yui had that department firmly under her belt, even more so when she would grow up into an adult.

Kurama's stomach lurched every time her flesh was pierced by the elder brother. The sharpened, unnatural digits dug into her flesh, swirled around a bit like the imp was digging for treasure buried in the deep muscled tissues, and subsequently ripped out. Medium-velocity of spatter painted the chamber floor red with her blood. Cast-off stains from where the elder brother extracted himself from his victim dripped blood where it otherwise would not have been. Elder Toguro took his time. He meant to do so in hopes to extract screams. Yui, out of sheer stubbornness or pride, refused give him that. In that, Kurama applauded her. But only in that.

He couldn't help but think that she got herself into this mess on her own. She was way in over her head yet she continued to throw herself back into battle even though they had the superior hand. Of course, he would have compassion. However, that compassion would be polluted with anger over her choices and the frustration from watching her make these stupid kind of mistakes he wouldn't ordinarily associate with someone who was supposed to be as smart as she was.

* * *

"I don't get to hear any pretty screams?"

Yui sneered, repressing the urge even to gasp as he dug a blade further into right shoulder and swirl it around for a bit. He reminded her of that man, and just like him she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of hearing her scream. Her eyes closed as a darkness descended upon her. Her body stopped obeying her. Every limb felt like weights had been chained around her body and forced her to succumb to this sudden onslaught of fatigue.

In one last, but ultimately feeble, attempt to gain the upper hand, a sickle formed in her hand, twice the link of her arm. It measured just enough to reach Elder Toguro.

_Just go to sleep._ A voice from nowhere told her.

The sickle shattered just as the disembodied voice's echo died out.

Suddenly released, Yui lay on the ground in agony, bleeding out. Her bones could reset themselves and be healed in a matter of minutes. Internal organs and flesh wounds wouldn't. Her hardy bones rammed into her lungs, liver, and stomach. Not bleeding, but several organs were bruised. Her head throbbed like it never had before. The rhythm of the pounding against her skull matched the same pulse of the blood exiting through the large, gaping wounds in her legs, arms, and torso. The humming of the florescent lights high above her head were slowly hypnotizing her into sleep. The creepy voice said again, '_Go to sleep._'

Was it her imagination? Was she really hearing things? There was yelling and screaming in the distance, but she could only hear it as if she had her head stuck under water. Or was that her? No. It couldn't have been. Yui didn't even have the strength to move let alone call out. Her head was throbbing so much that even if she could, her own cries would split her head open. The voice came again a third time. Stubborn enough to stay awake a little while longer, she refused to heed the disembodied voice. She tried to rationalize why it was there in the first place. Was it Botan telling her to rest? No, that couldn't be it either. The voice clearly belonged to a man. Where had she heard it before? It seemed so familiar.

_Please, go to sleep_.

Yui's eyes shot open despite having the angry fluorescents glaring down at her and making her eyes water. She slowly raised her hand towards her face to wipe some of it away. Even her eyes weren't functioning right. Instead of little icicles, her fingers met with salty wet tears. Not a good sign. She could barely lift her hand any further than she could. It only made the blood dribble down the ghastly holes in her arm faster. Yui's arm plopped down in a puddle of blood, white blanching against the thick red ooze. Strangely, her body felt both lighter than air and heavier than cement at the same time. The glaring lights buzzed like insects. Her eyelids felt like lead; she couldn't keep her eyes open for much longer.

_Just sleep_. The voice grew more agitated.

"Not until you tell me who you are." She seethed under her breath. Yui was angrier at herself for arguing with a disembodied voice that have very well could have been the result of her more recent brain injury.

Her ear felt have been stopped up. The lights above her glimmered out of view and vanished. Yui hadn't meant to close her eyes. All of a sudden, she found herself being swallowed up cloying darkness.

* * *

It may have been a hallucination due to blood loss or a dream. Either way, Yui opened her eyes again and saw black. Her body felt as heavy as a giant cinderblock. Her fingers moved by instinct, and ran against smooth silk, like a kimono. Yui couldn't see very far. She couldn't bring her up more than a centimeter to peer down at the white and silver kimono with black waves curling from the front to the back. When did somebody find the time to change her clothes? Who changed her clothes, she wondered, while that train of thought was still running. Her head wasn't throbbing anymore. What concerned her, though, was whose lap pillowed the back of her head and neck? Yui couldn't move. Her limbs still choose to disobey her. She couldn't even manage to wiggle her pinky.

_Just relax, pet. It will be all over soon_.

Yui tensed when she felt someone brushing her hair. Long, skeletal fingers combed through her hair. Not knowing where the other hand rested scared her the most. She finally looked up to see a face pale as the moon and almost as white as her own, even without severe blood loss. Onyx eyes, glassy yet unwavering, stared back at her. It unnerved her just how little he blinked. His two pools of ink set inside his skull mirrored her reflection as if they were trying to absorb her image.

He had an angular, heart-shaped face, blemish free. Feminine ebony brows that would give any supermodel a run for her money arched over two onyx stones. Pale lips smirked and white, straight teeth lurked behind them like daggers in his smile. Long black hair cascaded down his shoulders like fallen silk. In any other circumstance, Yui would be blushing beet-red at the moment and stammering helplessly, stumbling through the litany of questions racing through her brain at the moment. She supposed he was handsome, but this was neither the time nor the place to be concerned about subjective interpretations of male beauty.

"What's going on? Who are you?"

He smirked, revealing a pair of glistening fangs. Yui could feel her eyes grow wide. A shiver she could not repel crawled all over her skin. She never considered herself to be a person who relied on instincts or 'gut feelings.' Her extensive library against her bedroom wall stood as a monument to her reliance on intellect rather than emotional bias or possible instinctual feelings. With the cold shiver coursing through her flesh, freezing her blood from the inside out and numbing her bones to the marrow, Yui knew at once what having instincts felt like. It was like having a small dragon awaken from slumber in the pit of her stomach. Once roused, it could never be put to rest again. It clawed its way into her brain, and from there spread a deadly warning. Her fight or flight response kicked in upon the little dragon's command. It was most unfortunate that Yui could do neither.

The unwavering black eyes stared back at her, almost lovingly. His pale hand continued to run down her cheek and neck. His touch made her feel like slick, black oil was being pouring over her skin, chilling, disgusting. It left her feeling exposed to the elements, burned alive, and buried under a mountain the size of Everest of snow. There was something wrong with him, with this.

He could see her panic. How wide her eyes became. How flushed her cheeks grew. How her skin positively crawled at the slightest hint of his touch. Something stirred in her eyes, the dragon had woke up. He could see it in her mind's eye. He reveled in the fact that he could summon up the beast like it obeyed his every command.

"Who are you?" She wasn't going to ask again. Though she held nothing, Yui had to do something to compensate for her lack of power.

"You will know in due time. But first, I think you've been sleeping for far too long. You wouldn't want to upset your family, would you?"

"Wh—"

Yui's eyes snapped open to her bedroom, from her twin mattress. She didn't sit up immediately simply for the fact that she couldn't. A split second after her eyes snapped open, pain spread everywhere. Her skull still throbbed and she could feel every pulse in her sore limbs. If her body could speak, it would scream bloody murder.

"The princess awakens. Didn't even need a kiss from Prince Charming."

The voice startled her. Yui whipped her head toward the source, causing the strained muscle there to twist uncomfortably. She gritted her teeth through the pain. Yusuke sat at her bedside, unharmed.

"Y-Yusuke?"

"Who were expecting? Santa Claus?" He quipped, smiling and chuckling.

"You…startled me. You shouldn't do that." Yui croaked. She tried to sit up only to have Yusuke push her back down. Something was definitely wrong. He shouldn't be able to do that. At least she wasn't still dreaming. If she was, Yui wouldn't be able to feel all of the agony stretching from her legs up to her skull.

"Easy there, princess. You shouldn't be moving just yet." Yusuke carefully pushed down on her shoulders. "Genkai did what she could, but there's only so much the old broad could do for an ice dragon such as yourself."

"How long have I been unconscious?" Yui gave up the idea of resisting any further. It hurt too much.

Yusuke rubbed his chin and looked as if he debated with himself on whether or not to give her an honest answer. When he decided, he answered as best as he could. He was rather hopeful that Yui would respond well.

"A week and a half? How is that even possible!"

The girl tried to spring out of bed, but once again Yusuke managed to get her back onto the pillow.

"Look, Genkai had trouble pinning done what was the matter with you. You didn't lose a whole lot of blood—"

"The average female body holds between four and five liters of blood. For both men and women, a loss of one and a half liters results in unconsciousness. Therefore, I couldn't have lost more than two liters. If I was lucky. However, even if I lost the minimum amount of blood and suffered from bruised organs, at best I would be unconscious for a few days. Not two weeks!"

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, you're very smart. No shut up and get some much needed bed rest. If it's any consolation, you were kicking ass."

He settled himself back in the desk chair that he had pulled up by the bed during his visit. _Only_ after making sure Yui was going to stay in the bed, safe and sound and snug under the light-weight pink covers.

"I was?" Yui asked in disbelief.

Yusuke didn't know what to make of the confused look she was giving him. Then again, she probably didn't remember much of the fight. Even at distance, he could tell that she wasn't all there at the moment. Must have been some kind of demon thing going on back there.

"Yeah!" He answered, excited. "You were putting up and putting out blow for blow before you suddenly stopped. What happened back there anyway?"

"When I passed out or before?"

"You had this scythe and was about to cut him in half when you suddenly stopped. Then you fell."

"Yusuke, I honestly don't remember much about the fight. The only thing that's clear were those…hands stabbing me. Repeatedly. I swear I don't remember anything other than that! I don't _understand_—" Yui panicked.

Yusuke grabbed her by the shoulders a precaution if she tried to sit up in the bed again. He needed to keep her still.

"It's alright. You probably lost too much blood. That's probably why you don't remember much."

Yui slowly nodded her head. "Yes. Yes, that must be it."

Yusuke rose to his full height. "I'll be right back."

Yui watched him vanish behind her door. Didn't return again. Her face flushed when Kurama entered the room in Yusuke's stead. Kurama walked slowly to the bed, looking down as he did so. Yui had some difficulty getting a good look at him from the angle at which she rested on her bed, but she still see the closed off energy signature that would ward off unwanted company and the flaccid yet unwelcoming body language. He kept his arms close towards his body as if to shield himself from an invisible force. It was ages before he sat down at the bedside chair. For the longest time, neither spoke. Yui kept her mouth shut out of fear that she would say something stupid and upset him further than he already was.

"What were you thinking?"

If he hadn't been sitting so close, Yui might not have heard it at all. Kurama kept his head low. He avoided her gaze like he couldn't stand to look at her. There was an unnatural stillness to him, and it polluted the air between them.

"Kurama, I—"

The stark look he gave once he raised his head zipped her lips shut.

"Do you have any idea what you did?" He clenched his jaw, and then quickly released it. "You had your mother and sister scared to death that you would never wake up again. You put your grandmother in a predicament when she found out. Those bodyguards you brought back with you are sitting at home in _shame_ because they couldn't protect you properly. Just tell me, what on earth were you thinking? Or were you thinking at all that day?"

The words burned like lemon juice over fresh paper cuts. Yui considered each harsh word spilling out of his mouth as good recompense for her own foolishness. She didn't think, and by now it was far too late to consider, about the consequences if she had lost or if she died. She fidgeted and squirmed. Her heavy stomach dropped and her chest tightened. A white hot heat spread through her face. The only relief from this exhaustive heat were the cold icicles streaming down and freezing on site.

Kurama finished his rambling in time to see it, to see the tears rolling down and wetting her pillow with tiny snowflakes.

"I'm so sorry." He leaned forward and patted her head; his hand smoothed out her hair. "I didn't mean to hurt you. You had me…_us_ all worried. You weren't waking up. You made your mother think you never would open your eyes. You shouldn't have worried her so much."

"N-no," Yui chocked. "I should have apologized. It's _me_ who should be sorry. I wasn't thinking. I-I just wanted to prove something to myself."

"Prove what?" Yui was sure that he didn't mean to ask that in such as snappish tone.

"I spent six months of my life, giving up school and modern conveniences just so I could become stronger. In one week I was sexually assaulted by that _creep_. How do you think that made me feel?"

Kurama's face softened. He hadn't fully realized how her attack had affected her. It was beyond stupid of him to think less of it. Yui made it difficult to see. If had only been more open…No. He wasn't going to put the blame on her for this. He couldn't have possibly known what sort of pain she was going through. If he had been in her position, he wouldn't have wanted it to be out in the open either. It was appropriate for her grieve and get herself situated on her own terms, whether she talked to him about it or stayed silent on the matter. Above all else, above his opinion, how she handled the situation remained her decision and hers only.

The problem he had trouble wrapping his brain around was the course of action she saw fit to redeem herself. Keeping silent was one thing he could understand. But almost getting herself killed was not.

"Yui, I will try to understand. I will try to understand why you feel hurt and frustrated and ashamed of yourself for what he tried to do to you. If anything, I should be the one to blame because I didn't stop it in time nor did I see the signs of your pain seething beneath the surface. I promise not to take such passive actions in the future. There is, however, something that you must promise me in return." He grabbed her hand. Her cheeks burned brighter. Kurama gave her hand, now cold and clammy from the sweat in her palms, a light squeeze.

"W-what is it?" She stuttered.

Kurama squeezed a little harder. "I want you to promise me that no matter how hurt or in pain you feel on the inside, you will not do something so drastic. You'll come to me or your sister or your mother for help. Or, even Yusuke for that matter. He must be good for something, after all."

"I heard that!" They both heard Yusuke's rude remark through the closed door and waited for his footsteps to disappear.

"Just as long as you talk to _someone_. Can you promise me that much?"

Yui chewed her lip. Becoming very brave, she looked up and gazed at him. His eyes were much softer now. It made things a little easier when it came to saying such things as the words she was about to pronounce in the solemnity and privacy of her bedroom.

"Yes, yes. I promise. I'll try."

"Don't just _try_. Do." He gave her hand one good final squeeze before letting it go.

Kurama tried to lighten the mood by changing the subject of conversation to something more enjoyable. They sat and talked for at least a couple of hours before Mrs. Kagami kicked him out. The whole while, he couldn't keep this strange niggling feeling from the bowels of his mind from scratching at him. It irked him to no end. There was something he could feel in the air but wasn't sure what. The air around Yui tasted like tainted iron, of death. Their conversation barely distracted him long enough before his mind turned to that peculiar taste in the air that left him suppressing the cold shiver from running down his spine. Was Yui too weak to sense it or did she notice it at all? When it was time for him and Yusuke to take their leave of the house, Kurama decided to wait until Yui was lucid enough to answer any question he might still have. He left the house with not an insignificant amount of reluctance. Just as he tried to pass the house, he took one last look at Yui's bedroom window and saw the dim lamplight behind the curtains go out. There was a dark aura clinging to that room, before the lights had been turned off. He didn't know where the source of his apprehension came from, however sooner rather than later he would find out.

Yui lay awake, staring at the ceiling. After Kurama and Yusuke left, her mother chewed her out, followed by her sister, and finally her grandmother. She should feel guilty, and she did. But beside guilt, Yui held a great contempt for her own weakness. It ate away at her like maggots chewing up her insides. Kurama looked at her so coldly. His words were proof of his disappointment. Her grandmother and mother were equally disappointed in her, if not more so. She lay in bed, in the darkness of her room whilst an inner darkness threatened to chew her up from within.

She threw off the blankets. Nobunaga lifted up his head, troubled. He blinked at her and then walked over to the bed. His furry head nuzzled her knees and he rested his head in her lap. Yui pet him, scratched behind his ears, and whispered sweet nothings to the loyal friend.

"What am I going to do, boy? Even when I try to fight, I end up in coma for almost two weeks. How am I supposed to do anything?" Yui sighed.

Nobunaga whined as if he understood a single word she was saying. Yui looked around her room after her eyes became used to the darkness. A book shelf, a desk and chair, a closet, a dresser and a night stand. The summary of her life thus far didn't seem very much. The daughter of a great and powerful dragon couldn't even handle one demon and this was what she had to show the world? Her accomplishments? Her ambitions? This was what she amounted to?

* * *

Mrs. Kagami leered down at her bed-ridden daughter. It was hard to feel disappointed or even angry when looking at the state of her child's body covered in bandages and dark circles forming under her eyes. She tried to be mad, to be furious, but the woman had no strength in her to demand answers or to punish. This was the world Yui had been destined since birth to live in. She was no human; wasn't even a normal demon. This cost of the crown would never rest lightly on her brow. Mrs. Kagami's hands tightened to fists at her sides as she stood by Yui's bedside. The girl was half asleep; Mrs. Kagami could tell by the lack of snoring (taking after Yui's father, of course). Mrs. Kagami recognized the same deep shade of dark purple, like bruises, under her eyes. The same kind she bore for the first several years of her marriage, and during the first few weeks of Izo's mysterious disappearance. Yui suffered from some kind of neurosis, she was sure of it, and the constant demands to be two things, a normal high school girl and a dragon-demon, weighed more than Mrs. Kagami estimated. She knew this would happen one day.

She just sort of hoped that she was dead by then.

"Yui?" She spoke softly, ire forgotten.

Yui mumbled something incoherent in her sleep. She had stirred.

"I'm going to work now. Promise me you'll stay inside. I don't want to see or hear that you got yourself into more trouble, understand?"

Yui said nothing in reply, but she weakly nodded her.

"Mao's going to pick up some things from the store after school. She'll be back a little later. And don't forget to finish up that homework. You're behind enough as it is." Mrs. Kagami smoothed out a lock of snow-white hair from Yui's face. Her eyes cracked open, though not by much. "I love you."

She kissed Yui's cheek. Mrs. Kagami rose to full height, belly burning with hatred and rancor once more as her hand accidentally brushed against the bandages wrapped around Yui's arm. She ground her teeth. She almost felt like fangs had grown in place of her human teeth with how much she bit back all of the cruel words she would say to the monster that did this to her child. It took most of her strength to cool down the fires burning in her belly and the instinct to hunt and to kill the thing that targeted one of her own. Mrs. Kagami took a deep breath, releasing the flames of desire for revenge. She had to remember not much of her ancestor's blood remained in her. A dragon's blood lasted up to one thousand generations; Yuki Kagami was a lot further down the list. Something around eight-hundred and ninety-seven. Not much power left after five hundred generations had passed.

Mrs. Kagami got one last look at Yui from over her shoulder before she closed the bedroom door behind her. She shut it softly as to not disturb her. Finally, turning to her other daughter standing quite forlorn and unsure in the hallway, Mrs. Kagami put on her bravest face, reminiscent of the mask she wore when the girls' father disappeared almost eight years ago.

"Don't forget the list I put in your bag. I left the coupons on the fridge. Don't forget them on your way out!" She smiled as if everything was right with the world. She did it not to fool Mao; the girl was smarter than she looked. She smiled if only to fool herself, for a little while at least.

When she left at last, Mao took cautious steps towards her sister's door. She rapped gently before letting herself in.

"Mao? What is it?" Yui's voice cracked. She lay on her side, her back facing Mao.

"I-I was wondering if you wanted me to pick you up anything while I'm at the store later. Chocolate maybe? That usually makes me feel better when I feel bad," she tried but she knew she was failing miserably.

"No, thank you."

"Should I pick up a magazine then? Or a crossword puzzle? You like those, don't you?"

"No, thank you."

"What about—"

"I said no thank you!"

Mao backed away. Yui rarely raised her voice. Even Nobunaga on the bed was startled by Yui's crude manner of communication. Mao turned to leave without saying another word.

* * *

Not long after her family had left the house, Yui could the loneliness of an empty house creep up on her. There were so many sounds she never seemed to hear before. So many little details like the tiny cracks in the walls or the chipped wallpaper in the hallway. She missed those things when she had a pair of normal human eyes.

And what good were her dragon eyes a few weeks ago?

Yui shifted in bed and now stared at the ceiling. She stared at the white plaster stucco ceiling, fixing her eyes so that the irregular shapes seemed to form familiar ones. Unfortunately, she could only muster so much creativity to form a heart and a sunburst before giving up and returned to just staring above her. Sighing, Yui tossed the bedsheets from over her. Nobunaga rested at the foot of the bed and had been blanketed by the thin cloth. His large furry head poked out from underneath the pink sheets. His yellow eyes followed her out the room before she entered the hall.

Yui meandered into the bathroom. Her gaze was fixed on her feet. The sight of her reflection in the mirror seemed hardly an ideal picture she wanted to look at. She finished her business and had been washing her hands when a sudden spell of dizziness washed over her. A feeling of being watched swept over her. This creepy-crawling sensation of an invisible hand at one's back…Yui could feel it.

She shook her head as she rinsed her hands in the sink. This was simple paranoia. She must have been suffering from some mental backlash from her fight with the elder Toguro brother. Still, she could not shake the sensation. It almost seemed like she been here before. The sudden light-headedness, the feeling of being watched that sent a shockwave of hyped up instincts and the nauseous stomach that threatened to empty the scant remains of her last meal into the toilet.

_Yui._

She slowly raised her head. She thought she should be expecting something to be standing behind her in the mirror. That's how it worked in scary movies, right? When she looked, there was nothing there. It was only her staring back into her reflection. The voice, where did it go? Stupidly, Yui looked around the bathroom. She noted the grout tiles that needed cleaning and the shower head that needed to have the scum removed. Pulling back the shower curtains, there was nothing and no one standing in the empty shower. Yui sighed, exhausted by her own apparent yet-to-diagnosed-schizophrenia.

She stepped back in front of the mirror once her paranoia had been satisfied in its search for the disembodied voice whose source did not appear to be in the bathroom with her. However, when she looked again, Yui felt something wrong when she looked back at her reflection. Sure enough, she remained perfectly alone with herself. Everything was as it should be. But when she looked at her reflection a second time, a gross ugliness tainted the reflection. Not in a physical manner but it felt like a severe perceptional change. Yui stared at herself in the mirror. She touched her face feeling the smooth skin and the bandage on her left cheek. Her hand ran around her throat where the scar from the iron chain still wrapped its way around as a burning red reminder of a horrible night, one which she could have prevented had she stepped up her game after her father had left her in charge. Her fingers wound around the bandaged arms still sore with cuts, scrapes, and prodding holes where daggers had borrowed deep into her flesh, touched the marrow in her bones and penetrated her in the second most humiliating manner which men could torment women. Pale, thin fingers clutched opposite upper arms. Finger nails dug painfully into her arms. The dark circles in her face drew more of her attention. The accursed half circles she wore made her look older, frailer, more exhausted. She appeared as a skeleton-ghost with the dark circles under her eyes growing more distinguished, more prominent, and the longer she stared at them the darker they seemed to become.

Last but not least, her eyes. No longer a sparkling shade of electric blue. No longer containing the hint of silver flecks. Yui stared down a pair of deadened eyes, eyes devoid of anything worth meaningful. She stared at them until she had been forced to blink. She flicked the dainty icicles away from the corner of her eyes.

As she went on to look at her reflection, the ugliness, or at least what she perceived to be her own ugliness, grew more grotesque the longer she stood there. Even with Nobunaga scratching at the door, for surely his own instincts told him that his master was deeply troubled, Yui stood there cold and silent and dumbfounded by the misshapen thing standing before her.

_Yui_.

She didn't look around her. She didn't peek behind the curtain again. She didn't open the door, indeed not a crack, to see if something stood on the other side of it that would make that whispered noise that sounded like her name spoken through the wind.

One of her hands let go of her arm. Yui leaned forward against the sink. Her left hand rose and braced itself against the glass mirror. The other hand wrapped around the front of her abdomen. Her knees knocked together; her thighs trembled. Her stomach growled in protest. When was the last time she ate?

Oh. Right. A week and a half ago.

Yui tore her eyes away from her reflection in the mirror. The sight of herself made her sick to the stomach. She couldn't take it. She couldn't keep looking at the _thing_ in the mirror.

_Yui_, it said again. Only this time, she deemed it necessary to talk back.

"What?" She yelled. Throwing her head back, Yui faced the _thing_ she didn't want to see.

The _thing _in the mirror…she forgot who it was. This _thing_, whoever or whatever it was, wasn't her. It couldn't be her. She would never let herself become like this. Let herself be disgraced and humiliated all over again. Not like this. Not again. Whatever the _thing_ in the mirror was, it was a foreign creature glaring back at her. It had no business to be there in the first place. What would Dad say if he such a creature standing in front of him?

Yui took one shuddering breath with the last scrap of her sensibilities vying for control. Her skin prickled. Goosebumps coated her flesh in painful dots across her flesh. Her muscles strained. Her bones were weak. Breathing…labored.

Slowly, slowly, Yui withdrew her left hand from the mirror. She withdrew. She withdrew and gave one mighty war cry.

Glass shattered under her fist. Shards tinkled into the sink and around the rim. Some even fell to the floor. Yui hadn't realized that she had done it to begin with. It was as if she had taken a stroll outside of her body and let something else steer the ship for a while. She hadn't realized just how much damage had been done until she looked up, sweating profusely.

The mirror had been cracked into thousands of shards. Where the impact of her fist had been, a crater stood there. She could see the back of the mirror cracking through as well as dry-wall behind the mirror. From the crater, jagged vault lines crossed and branched from the epicenter of the ruined mirror. They bent and twisted and wrapped around the mirror until no decent reflection could ever be made in it again.

As her senses came back to her, Yui smelled something coppery in the air. She felt something warm run between her knuckles. Yui looked, and found blood all over her hand. Dust and blood coated her hand and nearly microscopic pieces of glass embedded themselves into her white knuckles, penetrating bandages. Her fist had been so crushed under the impact of dry wall and glass, pulling it away proved more painful than she prepared herself for it to be. A pitiful yelp escaped her throat as she wrenched her hand away. Pain erupted around the stinging, burning cuts left behind by the teeny, tiny little shards of glass piercing her skin and into the membranes wrapped around her finger bones. They said that it would take a dragon to truly break dragon's bones. Well, Yui proved that theory correct. She mangled her own fingers. They appeared to her as knotty tree roots all bent up and gnarled.

Blue eyes found white on red. Red blood on white flesh. She barely felt the wall hit her back as she walked away from the mirror and straight into the opposite wall. Her lungs burned as they strained to get enough oxygen to her ill brain. Choking rasps filled the bathroom. Yui lost balance. Her legs could no longer support her. They buckled under her weight. She crawled into the corner on the bathroom floor, cradling her hand to her chest and stained her nightshirt with dots of her bright red blood. She held it close like a teddy bear as she wept with the voice going off either in her head or outside it, taunting her.

* * *

"Why did I have to be the one to distract the humans? It'll be no fun at all. They're weak, little snacks. No meat on them at all!" A short girly figure sat on the roof of a building across from the middle school. Sharp teeth sunk into a large piece of burnt beef jerky as the girl continued to gripe and groan about her current position.

Finishing off her snack, she adjusted her pigtails, rearranging the red and gold flowers in her hair in the pocket mirror she carried in one of her long sleeves of the knee-length kimono she wore. Lowering the mirror, she sighed at the reflection. She pressed her fingers to her chest, wishing she could have been as a big as Haruka. Pouting, she tucked the small mirror back into the confines of her sleeve.

The school bell rang. Students filed out. The young lady rose to her feet and stood on the precarious ledge of the tall building. Red-orange scanned the bustling crowd of students trying to make their way home. She sniffed the air for her targets. Then there they were. She didn't have time to be subtle. She jumped from the building. Thankfully nobody had been noticing (how she didn't care to question). Her targets headed east. If she didn't act quickly, she'd end up chasing after them, and frankly she wasn't in the mood for that.

Pushing her way through the crowd, she raced in front of them. By blocking their path, they had no choice but to confront her.

"Hey, Cosplayer! Mind getting' out of the way?"

"Nope." She grinned. "And my name's Akane."

"Well, _Akane_, you had better move or else. I'm not above hitting a girl."

"Yusuke!" A horrified Keiko stood behind him.

"You can't hit a girl!" Then there was Kuwabara. Being chivalric as always.

"I think you'll want to hear what I have to say, Spirit Detective Yusuke Urameshi. Unless you want me to burn your school to the ground." Akane giggled.

"Go ahead. I don't care." He brushed past her.

"Very well then," Akane sighed. She moved too fast for Yusuke to catch her. She grabbed the person nearest to him, the only person who could pull at the pathetic human's heart strings. Akane wrapped her arm around Keiko's waist and pulled her tight. Akane's tan hand wrapped around the girl's throat with a vice grip. Her nails glowed red as Akane's fire started to sear through Keiko's flesh.

"About I burn her instead?"

"Why you!" Akane could see the fury appear so suddenly and quickly in his eyes. It almost matched the fire in her own. He tried to move closer to snatch the girl away from her grip. This only made Akane tighten her hold around Keiko's throat. Her hostage started to sweat profusely, salty droplets skimming down the side of her face. The girl squeaked and panted as heat spread further through the course of her blood stream. It would be only a matter of minutes before…well, that's just say her end wouldn't be so pretty.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Urameshi. I'm from the Southern Clan. I could burn her alive from the inside out and there'd be nothing for you left to do but put out the flames." She moved Keiko's hair aside and pecked the girl on the cheek. "Do I have your full attention now?"

The spirit detective and his friend stood stock still. They glared at her but they didn't budge an inch.

"Now, here's what's going to happen: you're going to meet me over at the warehouse three blocks away from your school. I'll let her go only _after_ we walk over there. Do we have a deal?"

"You'll let her go?" Asked Yusuke, his glare boring holes into Akane's skull.

"I swear on the soul of my mother, I will let her go. Just hold up to your end of the bargain. Let's go sweetheart." Akane released her hand around Keiko's throat, but maintained her grip around her waist. She dragged her along.

Yusuke and Kuwabara followed shortly behind. Yusuke's nails dug into the palms of his hands. He stuffed his hands into his pockets. He and Kuwabara trotted along watching Akane carefully. They walked further and further down the street. This was Japan. Not many people stopped to stare at the woman in the short red kimono. Akane dragged Keiko behind a decrepit wood fence and then into the abandoned warehouse. After Kuwabara shut the rusted door behind them, Akane through Keiko to Yusuke like the girl had been a rag doll she grew tired of playing with. Yusuke settled the frightened Keiko into a safe corner with a few reassurances that she was going to be alright before turning his attention to the demon who was grinning from ear to ear.

"You have my undivided attention. Who are you and what do you want?" He glared at Akane who rolled her eyes and sighed.

"You really are dense." Akane shook her head as if she had been disappointed.

"Excuse you?" Yusuke asked gruffly.

"I told you my name and my clan. Though who I am is of little importance to you. As to my purpose. Well," she chuckled darkly. "I'm here to kill you of course."

"Oh yeah? You and what army?"

"I don't need an army. I'm a fire dragon from Demon World. It honestly won't take much to kill you. But if you want to make it easy for me and surrender now, I would very much appreciate the gesture." Fire burst into life in both of her fists.

The air around them shifted. Before, Kuwabara and Yusuke could taste cold iron, dust, and oil. Now, all of a sudden, the air around them smelled of death and decay, of burnt offerings, brimstone, and hellfire. Yusuke's eyes were drawn to the unusual fire in Akane's fist where it glowed brightly and burned like real fire without scorching her flesh. The pair of flames in each of the demon's hands glowed not with red and orange tongues of fire, but with the color of ink and death and burnt wood. The fire in Akane's hands glowed black as night. They glowed but provided no light. The tips of the fires' tongues licked the air as if it was alive and consumed the oxygen they breathed.

"Yusuke?" Kuwabara took a step back. He turned white as a ghost but still summoned his trusty spirit sword.

"Yeah?"

"Do you feel that?" Kuwabara asked. Yusuke glanced in his direction. He too had been staring at the twin flames.

He nodded. "Yeah. I do."

"Are you going to come at me or am I going to have to waste actual effort in burning the both of you alive?" Akane fleshed them her white-pearly fangs.

* * *

Hiei sensed it first before it could ever appear in front of his eyes. It rumbled underground like an earthquake; traveling beneath the surface of the earth through whatever means nature gave it to tunnel through the thin crust of the planet. By no means were they subtle about it. The rumblings echoed under his feet like a pebble being thrown in a calm lake. The tremors could be felt from miles and miles away. Whatever targeted him, their point wasn't to catch him off guard for a sneak attack.

All at once, the rumbling stopped. Hiei glanced in every direction. He could catch neither smell nor sight of the enemy, but they were close at hand. They didn't even bother concealing their energy deep underground.

The thing came bursting out of the ground as active as a fiery volcano and like a warrior diving head first into battle. In the split second Hiei had to think, he thought, first, that this aura felt rather familiar, and second, was the enemy's appearance. Clearly a female judging by the top-heavy hour glass figure. Her feet and hands were wrapped in bandages, but her face she obscured by means of a straw conical hat around which a tattered veil of thin off-white gauze hung over the greater portions of her features.

He heard the rumbling start again. The woman standing ahead of him sent vibrations throughout the earth under both their feet. The earth split open at her sides. Large rocks erupted out of the ground as if dug up by invisible hands.

"You're from the Western Clan, aren't you?" He never received an answer but it didn't matter. He didn't need one. The proof was staring him in the face. No wonder her energy felt familiar. She was a dragon too. Almost strong enough to impress him.

Hiei drew his sword just before the small boulders hurtled towards him. The dirt making up the small boulders wasn't so impressive. His blade sliced cleanly through them, no resistance.

"Hiei of the Jagan? That is your name, yes?"

"You didn't answer my question when I asked. What makes you think I'll answer yours?" He sneered, throwing himself into an attack.

The woman didn't move. She remained frozen to her place. If he was a stupid man, he would stop to think that she was prepared to die, that this was a suicide. But Hiei was not a stupid man. She didn't move or dodge his attack for a reason. And that reason was the earthen barrier she created out of the ground with just a flick of her wrist a second before his steel met her flesh. The sword crashed into solid earth rather than solid flesh and bone. Rather than find blood painting the steel, dirt and grass marred the previously clean blade. Hiei dislodged his sword from the rock. He jumped back, far back. No need to close the space between them, yet. She could attack him from a far greater distance than his usual opponents and her close-range attacks could prove equally deadly. Best not to provoke his need to dispense with her by stepping too close.

"I'll ask again. Are you Hiei of the Jagan?" She repeated her question in that slow, monotone voice of hers.

"Who wants to know?" He braced himself for another attack as soon as he heard and felt the ground shaking around him.

"My name is Haruka, if that satisfies your question."

"Hn." Hiei snidely chortled. "Did you honestly think that it would? What is your purpose?"

"My purpose is this: my master wants you dead, therefore I will answer his command and deliver your head to him on a platter. Do not make this more difficult than it has to be, Hiei of the Jagan. I have more skill than you could possibly dream of." She said so with no hint of typical cocky bravado Hiei heard from Yusuke Urameshi nor the dream-filled utterances of opponents who thought how easy it would be to kill him because of his stature.

"And what makes you say that?" Alright, Hiei grew curious to his new opponent.

"I can see without seeing. My senses are so much stronger than yours. I can feel every pulse in your body. Every breath. Every thought. Born blind yet I can still see more than you, the one with multiple eyes!"

Hiei's pause might have killed him if he hadn't come to senses. Boulders twice his size came crashing towards him in an attempt to crush him to death. If he hadn't jumped out of the way soon enough, he would be laying on the hard, warm ground bones smashed to pieces and internal organs beyond the hope of healing and drowning in his own blood. He had the sense in his mind to worry about her blindness later. For now, the battle plan was just to stay alive.

* * *

Mao sighed. She'd been staring at the shelf of soft drinks for the past fifteen minutes. A handful of other customers passed her or reached in front of her to grab the bottle they wanted. Nervously, she bit her lip and grabbed the one with the pink label dotted with strawberries. She had no idea what her sister liked. It wasn't as if that girl could clearly speak her mind on anything other than books and school and other stuff. It wasn't Mao's fault that her sister could be such a mystery that she had to guess what kind of drink her sister would want.

"Hello, Mao-chan!" A familiar voice greeted her.

Mao turned about face to find Kurama and his human mother skimming through the same aisle. Mao quickly approached, bowed slightly and gave a similar greeting.

"Where's your sister?" Mrs. Minamino asked looking around for the other twin.

Mao looked at Kurama for answers. He seemed lost at what to say. He clearly couldn't give the answer aloud either.

"I'm afraid she's taken ill." Mao answered quickly, finally looking away from Kurama and looked at Mrs. Minamino.

Mrs. Minamino looked so concerned. She may have had the right to be. Yui's body might heal, but Mao was far more concerned about her mental and emotional health. Something in her gut warned her about staying away from her sister for too long.

"The poor dear! Will she be alright?"

"Nothing some bed rest won't cure. I'm sure she'll be back to school in a matter of a few days," Mao added with a smile to shake off Mrs. Minamino's worries.

"That's quite the basket you've got there, Mao-chan." Mrs. Minamino glanced at the full basket Mao carried with both hands. "Do you really think you can carry all that by yourself? Looks a bit heavy, don't you think?"

Mao waved it off. "Honestly, it barely feels like I'm carrying anything at all. I've lifted piles of firewood heavier than this."

"Oh, that's right. Your mother told me you all used to live in Sapporo. It gets really cold up there."

"Yup," Mao answered. "We used to live in this little village outside the city. Most of our heat came from fire wood. I can carry this by myself. You shouldn't worry."

That didn't stop the woman from looking so concerned. Kurama touched his mother's shoulder.

"If it'll be alright with you, perhaps I can help Mao-chan with her bags and walk her home?" He suggested. "I have some things I need to give to Yui anyway."

The sly fox. He thought Mao didn't realize how he left Yui's name without an honorific when he spoke. His human mother might have missed it, but it would be a cold day in hell before Mao would.

"As long as he's offering to help, I wouldn't mind." Mao glanced at Kurama, smirking slightly. "And I'm sure Yui would _love_ to have you visit, Shuichi-kun."

"R-right." He nervously agreed.

Mao could have patted herself on the back for a job well done. She made Kurama nervous. She doubted many people could say that and live to tell the tale. Taking her things to the register to buy them and bagged, Kurama followed shortly behind her. As she paid, he grabbed one of her bags and waited for her. The cashier handed her the change due, and after grabbing the other bag, she waved Mrs. Minamino 'good-bye for now' and headed out the door with Kurama.

"How is your sister?" He asked when they were a few blocks away from her street. It was still quite the walk at this time of day. The air felt charged.

Mao heaved a sigh, heavier than before. "She seemed…out of it. Normally she would be up some resistance to staying in bed rather than going to school, but this morning she just seemed to give up without trying. It was scary."

"Was it wise to leave her home alone then?"

"And who would look after her? You and I both have school. Mom's got work and Grandma Satsuki hasn't been around in a couple days. _And_ we have no way of contacting her. It's not like we can put in an ad: one single mother looking for a temporary care-taker of one teenage female daughter with clinical depression." Mao griped shifting her bag from one hand to the other.

"You think she's depressed?" The worry was written all over poor Kurama's face.

"I've read some of her psychology books. She has all the hallmarks of clinical depression. She hardly eats, sleeps most of the day, and doesn't even bother getting up to grab a book and read. That's what's so worrying. I've never seen my sister without a book. It's scary I tell you!"

"Yes, I understand. Do you know how long she's been like this?"

"In the long term or short term?" Mao asked. If given some thought, she would have to answer his question without complete honesty and say her sister was always depressed from the time they were eight.

When he didn't answer, Mao continued regardless of what he might have said.

"Short term, since she woke up. Long term, I'd say she's been like this since our father left. None of us were the same after he vanished from our lives, but I'd wager that the loss hit Yui the hardest. They were close, Yui and my dad. I admit that I was jealous for the longest time. I didn't understand why they shared a stronger bond before and when he left, I started to blame her for his disappearance. I felt that she was the reason why he left."

"Your father didn't leave you. Not of his own free will." Kurama corrected.

"I know that!" Mao stamped her foot. The air about her was cloying, choking her. Her spine tingled. She couldn't place where it was coming from, only knew that it made her skin prickle uncomfortably. "I also know that I'm part of the reason my sister was so damn miserable all those years. If I had just stepped up to be the sister that I'm supposed to be, maybe none of this wouldn't have happened."

"It probably would have happened regardless of your actions in the past. You can't keep blaming yourself for all of this. It isn't your fault." Although, Kurama sort of agreed with her. Part of Yui's personality had been shaped by her sister's misconduct and negative attitude towards her.

"I won't forgive myself until I hear from her mouth!" Mao wiped away the hot tears that threatened to trickle down her cheek.

"Mao, where is your sister now?" Kurama asked.

"Probably still in bed."

* * *

The room hummed. Yui pealed open her eyes. The world of her bathroom appeared as a blurry mess, a Salvador Dali painting of pale colors and sketchy objects. It remained as a swirl of colors as she sat there on the tiled floor, trying to regain consciousness. Stretching a bit, Yui felt no better than before. As a matter of fact, her body felt worse.

Her ears were ringing; her head throbbed. Her skin felt like it was simultaneously hot and cold, prickled with fiery steam and cold, sharp winds. The bones beneath her aching flesh moaned as she willed her limbs to move from that cramped position on the floor. The joints in her knees popped with the sharp crack of broken twigs. The pain shooting up from her knees caused her to fall forward and bang into the door, clutching to it for dear life as her legs turned to jello.

Yui grabbed the door knob. She pulled it open, fumbling through her memories on when she shut it in the first place. She rubbed her head. Her skull felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. Yui could feel every vein and artery leading up to her brain throb with each heart beat that sent a shudder of pain throughout her head. Still bleary-eyed, Yui moved her hands along the walls for support. The blurry, fuzzy black shape of Nobunaga wandered over to her. Yui reached out her hand towards him, nearly collapsing, only to have the mighty dire wolf whimper away from her. She turned towards her room, but the light ripping through her window was too much.

With her arm held over her eyes like she'd been blinded by the sun, Yui staggered down the hall. Her skin had forgotten what kind of demon she was supposed to be. Her body felt unnaturally hot from the inside and yet she shivered with chills. Her body couldn't make up its mind.

Yui continued down the hall, using the bare walls as support as she meandered through the house blind. She slowly lowered her arm to grab the railing as she turned towards the basement. Nobunaga, still whimpering, lingered at a far distance. Just what had gotten into him?

She clambered down the stairs, one step at a time so as to prevent a broken ankle in her sudden blindness. To her eternal gratitude, the door to the garage had been left unlocked. Cold air passed through her like she was made of nothing. Her hand struggled to find the light switch. Yui winced as the light nearly blinded her again but it was less powerful than the sunlight tearing through her window. When did she pull back the curtains?

Yui's stomach lurched. Something powerful kicked her in the gut. Sour bile rose in her throat. Gasping and clutching at her throat, Yui gagged as fire tore its way up her gullet and erupted past her lips. Her knees buckled unto the harsh concrete floor. The sick bile rose quickly. It burned her throat, her tongue and the inside of her mouth. On all fours, her body forced her spew the foul junk from its system. Her body didn't seem to care that there wasn't much digesting in her stomach or that with every upheave it grew weaker.

By the end, Yui was disgusted with herself and crawled into the cot. The thin sheet she tore away from the mattress to use in wrapping a secure caccoon around herself. Yui collapsed on the metal cot, shivering and sweating all over the sheets and her pajamas. Her stomach lurched again, this time with twice as much force. Yui didn't even realize how much she had in her stomach but there couldn't be much left if this kept up.

* * *

Welp. This is embarrassing. I should have written this a while ago, but I got so caught up with my book and school and frankly, I'm just too lazy to care about much of anything. Sorry if you've been waiting with baited breath, although I have to assume that if you've been holding your breath since, what April?, you're probably dead. But don't worry! For those still alive, I will immediately go to work on the next chapter and then we'll dive right into the Dark Tournament saga. Please be patient with me! XOXO darlings!


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